Poor European finance pros. They just can't catch a break.
Last week the European Council and European Parliament were batting around ideas for new compensation rules for hedge and PE funds -- namely, they'd have to swallow the same medicine (read: bonus restrictions) that were handed down to the bankers.
This week the European Central Bank is turning its attention toward insurance companies. ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said that large insurance companies are "systemically relevant" and as such, should be regulated more heavily. Increased governmental scrutiny could come in the form of legislation known as Solvency II, which mandates stricter capital reserve requirements. The legislation isn't supposed to go into effect until 2012, but with the way the political winds are blowing, it might take root before then.
The U.K. has been especially opposed to increased regulatory scrutiny, and wants to make sure supranational European organizations don't have power over national authorities. Of course, Eurosceptism has always flown through the U.K.'s veins, so it's no surprise that the issue would come up now as well.
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