Germany and France join to block hedge fund rules

Germany and France join to block hedge fund rules
29 September 2010, by Nikki Tait in Brussels, Ben Hall in Paris and Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin (The Financial Times)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67d86cea-cbc5-11df-a4f5-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss

Excerpt:

Germany has joined forces with France in an effort to block new European Union hedge fund regulations, which could allow funds and managers outside the 27-bloc to obtain pan-EU marketing rights or a EU passport for funds domiciled in tax or regulatory havens.

This issue has stymied any political pact on the proposed new rules which would regulate managers of hedge funds and private equity funds across the EU for the first time.

Paris has consistently opposed giving pan-EU marketing rights to funds run from offshore centres such as the Cayman Islands, and wants member states instead to keep control of what products are sold in their individual markets.

But Brussels argues that pan-European access should be available provided funds or their managers meet required standards. That position is supported by the UK, where many fund managers in the City of London base funds offshore for tax reasons.

The US has also lobbied hard against any discriminatory treatment for its large hedge fund industry.