 |
Charlie McCreevy |
Charlie McCreevy is one of Europe's strongest proponents of globalisation and the creation of the global "level playing field". Pursuing this aim, he is averaging around three speeches a week to associations, conferences and legislative bodies. He is, at times, outspoken and critical of regulated institutions and, as happening earlier in March when he criticised the MiFID laggards, castigates them for not living up to his objectives. However, the EU has not seen it necessary to rein him in, so we can assume that his is the agreed voice of Europe and the European Commission.
Recently, McCreevy has been advocating that transatlantic cooperation is the ideal model for globalisation and has been spending a large percentage of his time talking to US legislators and regulators. In a speech at an Irish financial conference, McCreevy saw three major building blocks needed in creating a true transatlantic and cooperative regulators environment:
- Avoid clumsy, reactive legislation and create new rule only where necessary and where the benefits strongly out weigh the costs;
- Coordinate regulatory activities and avoid duplicating rules – have the courage to accept the regulatory regime of another country rather than creating overlays of regulation;
- Create an environment with consistent implementation, information sharing and enforcement at technical level based on the laws of each others’ respective jurisdictions.
Each of the bullets would find favour with the opponents of Sarbanes-Oxley-type legislation, the critics of "gold plating" of European directives, and those hoping for a standard implementation of Basel II with efficient cross-border enforcement.
McCreevy is a strong supporter of principles-based regulation and is confident that the US is moving in this direction. He believes that risks should be taken and that risk management is what is needed, not risk avoidance. He said, "In developing our regulatory frameworks in the light of the globalisation of the financial industry, we need to focus on some key principles and objectives. Open access. Compatible regulatory approaches. A sensible balance between investor protection and economic freedom. Market participants and investors want choice. We should give it to them. And ensure a level playing field."
|
