Bank capital rules -14 May Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee vote
May 15, 2012--The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee took a unanimous stand on the latest bank capital requirements legislation on Monday 14 May. The vote gives Parliament's negotiators, led by rapporteur Othmar Karas (EPP, AT), a strong hand in pushing its reform agenda with Member States.
Put simply, bank capital is the funds held by a bank in the form of cash, real estate, bonds, shares, and loans such as mortgages etc. Bank capital is also categorised by how liquid it is, i.e. how easily it can be converted into cash in order to make payouts to creditors, including depositors.
This note details the key aims that the committee strove for in the vote and how it proposes that they be achieved.
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Source: European Parliament
Deutsche Boerse Group to reduce equities clearing fees
Participants will save up to 20 percent of clearing fees
May 15, 2012--Eurex Clearing is to lower the clearing fees for equity transactions on Xetra and Xetra Frankfurt Specialist with effect from 1 July.
The volume-dependent clearing fee will fall by 0.02 basis points for all participants. The volume-dependent fee will in future be 0.0008 percent for Xetra Frankfurt Specialist trading and between 0.0008 and 0.0003 percent in fully electronic Xetra trading – depending on monthly turnover volume. The new pricing model will save clearing customers up to 20 percent of total clearing fees.
“The reduced pricing model in equities clearing makes trading on the Xetra and Xetra Frankfurt Specialist even more attractive and puts us in an excellent position in the European clearing business,” said Frank Gerstenschläger, Deutsche Börse AG Executive Board member responsible for the Xetra cash market segment.
Due to the stimulation in trading and clearing activity as a result of the new pricing model, Deutsche Börse expects a largely neutral effect on total turnover.
In clearing, receivables and liabilities from the securities business are aggregated or offset against each other. After the end of a trading day, the clearing house informs its members of their transactions as well as the remaining receivables and liabilities generated.
Source: Xetra
Flash estimate for the first quarter of 2012 Euro area and EU27 GDP stable
0.0% and +0.1% respectively compared with the first quarter of 2011
May 15, 2012-- GDP remained stable in both the euro area1 (EA17) and the EU271 during the first quarter of 2012, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, growth rates were -0.3% in both zones.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP remained stable in the euro area and increased by 0.1% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2012, after +0.7% and +0.8% respectively in the previous quarter.
During the first quarter of 2012, GDP in the United States increased by 0.5% compared with the previous quarter (after +0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011).
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP rose by 2.1% in the United States (after +1.6% in the previous quarter).
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Source: Eurostat
Fiscal Policy: Growth dimension and control of new Commission powers needed
May 15, 2012--The European Commission should have more control over fiscal policy in EU Member States, but not the free rein it asked for, says the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in texts, voted on Monday, stating a position on the economic governance ""two pack".
This increased power must be democratically controlled and serve to spur economic growth, MEPs say.
The vote was not without acrimony as centre left and centre right groups were divided on whether the timing was right for a vote. "The world was a different place when the Commission made its proposals and the Council is also shifting its position on how much austerity is needed", said Elisa Ferreira (S&D, PT), one of the rapporteurs, said before the vote.
"Changes in the political environment happen all the time. We should vote because this legislation should enter into force as quickly as possible in view of the persisting crisis" Jean-Paul Gauzes (EPP, FR), the other rapporteur, replied. A slim majority was then secured for the votes to be taken.
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Source: European Parliament
EC-Emissions Trading: Annual Compliance Round-Up Shows Declining Emissions In 2011
May 15, 2012--Emissions of greenhouse gases from installations participating in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) decreased by more than 2% last year, according to the information provided by Member State registries.
Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "ETS Emissions decreased by more than 2% in 2011 despite an expanding economy recovery. This good result shows that the ETS is delivering cost-effective emissions reductions. It also emphasizes why the ETS remains the engine to drive low-carbon growth in Europe. However, there is still a growing buffer of unused allowances. This is why the Commission, as announced last month, is now reviewing the time profile of phase 3 auctions with a view to reducing the number of allowances for auction in the early years of phase 3".
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Source: Europa
ETF 'growth suffers' after regulatory criticism
May 15, 2012--Growth in the European exchange trade funds industry has suffered as a result of ETF providers'
failure to provide a unified response to regulators’ criticisms, a senior executive of db x-trackers has said.
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Source: FT.com
EBA, EIOPA and ESMA consult on Commission's Review of the Financial Conglomerates Directive
May 14, 2012--The European Supervisory Authorities, EBA, ESMA and EIOPA respectively, have today published a consultation paper on the Financial Conglomerates Directive (FICOD).
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authoritiesin April 2011had received a Call for Advice from the European Commission to look at the (A) scope of application, especially the inclusion of non-regulated entities (B) internal governance requirements and sanctions, and (C) supervisory empowerment of Directive 2002/87/EC on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings and investment firms in a financial conglomerate.
The ESA advice shall contribute to the European Commission’s fundamental review of the FICOD. Stakeholders are invited to comment by August 13.
Dow Jones Indexes to License "Distributing" Version of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
New Calculation Method Highlights Dividends Paid by Components of the Iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average
May 14, 2012-Dow Jones Indexes today announced that a new "distributing" version of the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been licensed by Commerzbank and UniCredit to serve as the basis for Tracker Certificates listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart exchanges.
The certificates will be marketed by UniCredit under the brand names “HypoVereinsbank onemarkets” in Germany and “UniCredit onemarkets” in Austria.
The new version of The Dow will be disseminated by market data vendors under the name Dow Jones Industrial Average (Distributing Index) and the suggested symbol DJINRD / DJINRDE. The index is calculated according to Dow Jones Indexes’ distributing methodology, which couples the performance of a base equity index, in this case The Dow, with a theoretical cash component designed to reflect the dividends paid by the base index’s constituents in a given six-month period. The index reflects distribution of the accumulated cash and resets the theoretical cash component to zero on a semi-annual basis. The index is calculated in USD and EUR.
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Source: Dow Jones Indexes
FESE European Equity Market Report-updated with April figures
May 14, 2012--FESE has published the 'European Equity Market Report' which gathers data from all the market segments operated by FESE members (including Regulated Markets and Multilateral Trading Facilities) as well as from the major MTFs operated by investment firms in the European market. The FESE Statistics Methodology used in the Report has been agreed by all the trading venues involved, both RM and MTFs.
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Source: FESE
European equity yields could soar 20 per cent after ECJ ruling
Equity income fund managers expect a windfall for yields after a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling which could end a punitive tax on dividends.
May 14, 2012--Last week the ECJ ruled that a 15 per cent withholding tax imposed by France on dividends paid to Ucits-compliant funds was "unfair" as French investors were exempt from the payment.
Accountancy and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the ruling could set a precedent across other European countries with similar withholding taxes.
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Source: FT Advisors
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