31 Amendments of Astrid LULLING related to 2007/2238(INI)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas several global, EU and national institutions have, long before the current financial crisis, voiced their conceranalysed concerns and made recommendations in relation to hedge funds and private equity about financial stability, inadequate risk management, excessive debt (leverage) and the valuation of illiquid and complex financial instruments,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is empiricalno clear evidence that hedge funds engage in herding in times of market turmoil, thus giving rise to financial stability concerns,
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas enhanced appropriate levels of transparency towards the public, investors and supervisory authorities, including, in future, any new EU supervisory body, are crucial to ensure such well-functioning and stable financial markets as well as for promoting competition between market actors and products,
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas excessive debtit is unclear in what way high debt levels required by much of the activities of hedge funds and private equity threatens financial stability, prejudicesmight impact on the realisation of the long-term investment, growth and jobs agenda and is, moreover, unfairly favoured in national tax regimes,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas in the event of extreme debt loads, private equity leveraged buy-outs may affect the viability of the target companies,
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas there are manymight be conflicts of interest either arising from the business model of private equity or hedge funds or from the relationships between those vehicles and other actors in financial markets,
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas whilst there is no evidence that those vehicles caused the current financial crisis, they have been involved in the business of non-regulated and highly complex structured products; whereas not being adequately capitalised and thus volatile to turbulences, those vehicles enhanced the crisis,
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Requests the Commission to submit to Parliament by 30 November 2008, on the basis of Article 44, Article 47(2), or Article 95 of the EC Treaty, a legislative proposal or proposalsa study on hedge funds, private equity and other relevant actors, following the detailed recommendations below;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 1
Annex – recommendation 1 – paragraph 1
The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should aim to regulatestudy should cover the following points:
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – point a
Annex – recommendation 1 – point a
(a) Capital requirements Investment firms, insurance companies, credit institutions, conventional funds (such as UCITS and pension funds/IORPs) have to comply with capital requirements. Whatever the legal structure of hedge fund and private equity vehicles, including limited partnerships, the Commission should consider ensureing that an appropriate capital requirement is introduced at the level of the entity that controls the investment of the fund or funds concerned (i.e. management firm), covering all funds regardless of their place of registration. These capital requirements should nevertheless not be additional requirements to already existing rules and in no case be regarded as a guarantee in case of any fund failure.
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – point b
Annex – recommendation 1 – point b
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – point c
Annex – recommendation 1 – point c
(c) Liquidity The Commission should introduceconsider risk-weighted capital adequacy requirements in respect of liquidity risk in its revision of the Directive 2006/48/EC.
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – point d
Annex – recommendation 1 – point d
(d) Valuation The Commission should proposeconsider ways for the introduction of precise rules on the valuation of illiquid financial instruments in order better to protect investors and the stability of financial markets.
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 1 – point g
Annex – recommendation 1 – point g
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 1
Annex – recommendation 2 – paragraph 1
The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should aim to regulatestudy should cover the following points:
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – point a
Annex – recommendation 2 – point a
(a) Registration and authorisation of management companies and funds' managers The Commission should establish an EU framework for the registration and authorisation of entities that control the investment of hedge funds or private equity (i.e. management firms)for non-retail investors, which should function on a single entry point basis: once authorised, the entities concerned should have access to undertake business throughout the EU. In order to promote a well-functioning single European financial market, the Commission should ensure that management firms disclose the following: - the name and domicile of funds they control, - the identity of managers, - corporate earnings and bonuses, - remuneration of directors, senior executives and other staff with investment responsibilities, and - relationships with prime brokers. That information should be set out in a uniform format (also to facilitate the proposal for a database below).
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – point b
Annex – recommendation 2 – point b
(b) Notification (i.e. approval) of wholesale investment vehicles In order to encourage funds to be located onshore in the EU, the Commission should propose a separate directive along the lines of theestablishing an EU-wide private placement regime, currently under discussion, to apply to the marketing and distribution in the EU of hedge funds and private equity funds. Such a regime should function on a single entry point basis: once authorised, it should be possible to offer those wholesale investment vehicles to professional, or institutional investors throughout the EU. In order to promote a well-functioning single European financial market, the Commission should ensure the investment vehicle discloses the following: - general investment strategy and immediate information on any changes thereto, - leverage/debt exposure, - overall fees as well as breakdown of fees (including any stock options awarded to employees), - source and amount of funds raisedrisk incurred by the investment vehicle, - past performance if available, - risk-management system and portfolio valuation methods, - information on the administrator of the fund, and - share of the fund contributed by the management company and its staff. That information should be set out in a uniform format (also to facilitate the database proposal below).
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – point c
Annex – recommendation 2 – point c
(c) Database The Commission should, with the help of Level 3 Committees, consider establishing an EU-wide registration/authorisation database recording the information on both management firms and investment vehicles as specified above. The supervisory authorities of all Member States should have unlimited access. Relevant categories of the database should be public.
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – point d
Annex – recommendation 2 – point d
(d) Investors The Commission and supervisory authorities should consider ways to ensure that investors in those vehicles receive not only sufficient but also relevant and comparable information (e.g. the simplified prospectus/fact sheet for UCITS).
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 2 – point e
Annex – recommendation 2 – point e
(e) Private equity and protection of employees The Commission should proposeconsider amendments to Directive 2001/23/EC so that the same protections afforded employees by that Directive, including the right to be informed and consulted, apply whenever control of the undertaking or business concerned is transferred by means of a private equity transaction.
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 1
Annex – recommendation 3 – paragraph 1
The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should aim to regulatestudy should cover the following points:
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 3 – point a
Annex – recommendation 3 – point a
(a) Limits on leverage for private equity The Commission should consider ways to amend Directive 77/91/EEC on capital to introduce rules to specify the appropriate level of debt at any given time in relation to the target company bearing in mind the legitimate rights of important stakeholders (including employees); in conjunction with such level, the Commission should request the Member States to introduce taxation consequences for private equity funds in cases of excessive debt; such taxation consequences could include eliminating or reducing the tax deductibility of interest payments on the debt concerned in line with best practices in Member States.
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 3 – point b
Annex – recommendation 3 – point b
(b) Capital depletion The Commission should consider ways to amend Directive 77/91/EEC on capital to set minimum capital levels for the target company by reference to the long-term interests of the target company. The Commission should also, without delay, propose consider rules to harmonise requirements for directors of the target company (i.e. management and supervisory board members), to certify that capital outflow (including any fees paid) is in the best long-term interests of the target company, including its long-term growth and R&D needs. In particular, EU corporate governance requirements, such as the provisions of the Directive 1978/660/EEC, might be amended to achieve that result.
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 3 – point c
Annex – recommendation 3 – point c
(c) Limits on leverage for hedge funds The Commission should devise the upper limit in the debt of hedge funds in relation to preservingRisk disclosure: In order to contribute to the preservation of the stability of the EU financial system, hedge funds should disclose and manage the risks they incur.
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 3 – point d
Annex – recommendation 3 – point d
(d) EU Registration for structured products The Commission should establishassess the usefulness of a public register of structured products in the EU.
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 1
Annex – recommendation 4 – paragraph 1
The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should aim to regulatestudy should cover the following points:
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – paragraph 1
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – paragraph 1
(b) The Commission should also introduceconsider rules to ensure effective Chinese walls between services that investment firms provide for their clients (such as prime brokerage) and all their other business units (including asset management services, proprietary trading etc).
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 1
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 1
- Private equity The Commission should formulate ruleconsider ways by which to deal with the conflicts of interest between the private equity partners and the management of the target company (and any others who stand to gain from the deal). Those rules should include a requirement of public disclosure of any fees or other incentives received by directors (i.e. management board and supervisory board members) or employees of the target company.
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 2
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 2
- Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) The Commission should formulate ruleconsider ways by which to deal with the conflicts of interest inherent in their current business models, and arising from the interplay among actors in today's financial markets.
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 3
Annex – recommendation 4 – point b – indent 3