EU capital markets revamp eyes cross-border funds, share price transparency

  • 11/5/2021
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LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The European Union will propose its next batch of reforms this month to strengthen its capital market after Brexit, including steps to boost share price transparency and clarify rules for cross-border funds, its financial services chief said on Friday. The EU wants to reduce reliance on the City of London, Europe’s biggest financial centre, after Britain fully left the bloc last December. “We want to make the European Union the main place to trade in all euro denominated financial asset classes, primarily shares, exchange-traded-funds, bonds and derivatives,” Mairead McGuinness told an event held by the Portuguese markets watchdog CMVM. Brexit forced swathes of euro stock, bond and derivatives trading to leave London for countries remaining in the European Union, and McGuinness also wants to reduce reliance on Britain for clearing euro derivatives. McGuinness said she would propose rule changes this month for asset managers in the bloc’s 6.7 trillion euro ($7.7 trillion) alternative investment funds market. Changes will focus on delegation - or when an alternative fund in the EU has an asset manager based outside the bloc - a longstanding feature of the global funds sector. The funds industry is worried that delegation will be made harder but McGuinness signalled a pragmatic approach. “Our proposals will clarify rules on the delegation of certain functions by asset managers, and foster supervisory convergence in that area, while recognising that delegation is a useful tool to ... seek specific expertise in a particular market,” McGuinness said. Long term investment funds (ELTIFs) will be more attractive for channelling cash into transport and clean energy. McGuinness said there were just over 50 ELTIFs in four member states and she would consider easing rules for professional investors and removing the 10,000 euros minimum amount that retail investors must put into an ELTIF. Also this month, McGuinness will propose creating a ‘consolidated tape’ to give investors a snapshot of securities prices from across the bloc to find the best deals. There will also be a legislative proposal for a ‘single European access point’ for investors to obtain information about EU companies and financial products. Next year the EU will propose legislation to make it easier for smaller companies to list their shares, McGuinness said, adding there would be legislation to converge national insolvency rules in “certain targeted areas”. Britain is also revamping its own capital market given there is little prospect for London to regain broad access to the EU as relations with Brussels remain tense over fishing and Northern Ireland. $1 = 0.8681 euros Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Mark Potter

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