MPs fly out to meet American financial leaders: Members of the Commons Treasury Select Committee, which is in the middle of an inquiry into whether big banks should be forced to carve themselves up, flew to America to meet Wall Str financiers, central bankers and the US Treasury
The MPs, from all three of the big political parties, will visit New York and Washington, where they are scheduled to meet Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve who is head of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Mr Volcker is a vocal supporter of forcing big lenders to separate deposit-taking operations from riskier investment banking divisions. Mr Obama unveiled radical plans last month to reform the American banking sector, including banning lenders from investing in hedge funds.
The delegation is hoping to meet Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Timothy Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary. It also wants to see representatives of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street’s regulator, and Barney Frank, the Democrat chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which has a similar remit to the Treasury Select Committee in scrutinising the banking and insurance industry and the capital markets. (c) The Times
LSE gives private investors chance to trade in bonds: The London Stock Exchange’s new bonds trading service goes live, offering private investors the chance to buy corporate bonds and gilts in manageable quantities for the first time
SEC, FSA To Boost Cooperation On Hedge Funds: U.S. and British regulators agreed to expand their cooperation on hedge fund oversight. The two sides agreed to increase their cooperative efforts on hedge fund adviser surveillance