BoE panel condemns draft EU hedge fund legislation
February 8, 2010
Draft European Union legislation designed to regulate the hedge fund industry would trigger "systemic failure and widespread market disruption" if it became law.
Those are the findings of the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC), which was established by the Bank of England, on the eve of a critical week for the EU hedge fund directive in Brussels.
The Times has learnt that European lawmakers will be presented today with about 2,000 amendments to the draft legislation, each of which must be debated.
Lawmakers in Brussels — led by the French — believe that the trading behaviour of hedge funds exacerbated the severity of the global credit crisis and played a key role in the collapse of a number of lenders.