Press Release

29/04/2009

Hedge Funds: Commission going in the right direction, at last. Jean-Paul Gauzès MEP

The European Commission's proposals announced today will require that managers of hedge funds and private equity funds be registered, hold a minimum level of capital, and disclose information on borrowing to regulators. Fund managers using high levels of leverage will have to reveal aggregate borrowing levels to national regulators.

The Commission proposals will be discussed in the European Parliament under the procedure of codecision. "The EPP-ED Group will examine the draft rules in detail to ensure that the proposals are adequate and that the funds do not pose a systemic risk. We will ensure that the rules respond to the requirements of transparency, control and appropriate supervision for hedge funds. We consider that the proposal is a good step in the right direction but perhaps not enough", said Jean-Paul Gauzès, EPP-ED Coordinator in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Hedge funds total about $1.2 trillion in assets under management at the moment and they use the banking channels for their operations. Now that governments are supporting banks, we must make sure that these banks are not undermined by entities which are managed without transparency and without appropriate supervision.

For further information:
Jean-Paul Gauzès MEP, Tel: +32-2-284-77-00
Marion Jeanne, EPP-ED Press Service, Tel: +32-479-840293

Notes to Editors:
The EPP-ED Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 288 Members from all 27 Member States.