Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 360
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NewsSwedish roundup: AP7, Länsförsäkringar
SWEDEN – Swedish national buffer fund AP7 is cooperating with United Nations Environment Programme Financial Initiative (UNEP FI) and Ethix SRI Advisors to bulld guidelines on tar sands, while Länsförsäkringar has aborted plans to demutualise.
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Romanian austerity measures threaten second pillar
ROMANIA – The Romanian finance ministry is seeking to cut the contribution rate to the second pillar from 2.5% to 0.5%, but is facing opposition from the country’s pensions industry.
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Austria needs pension simplification not guarantees, experts warn
AUSTRIA – More guarantees in Austria's second pillar would serve only to complicate the system and fuel public doubts, according to advisory and academic experts.
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Short-selling ban ‘red herring’ for wider euro-zone problems – ATP
EUROPE – Following widespread criticism from fund managers of Germany’s short selling ban, Danish pensions giant ATP has questioned whether it was really to blame for the subsequent currency and stock market falls.
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EC postpones corporate governance review to June
EUROPE – The European Commission's green paper on corporate governance will now be published in the first week of June.
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Auto-enrolment still on track as new UK government rings changes
UK – The new coalition government in the UK has confirmed it will continue with existing plans for incoming auto-enrolment regulations, while its intentions to part-privatise Royal Mail has raised questions over the future of the organisation’s pension deficit.
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EU legislative machine failed - Berès
EUROPE – The EU’s current legislative programming procedure has been shown to be too cumbersome and in need of replacement, according to a draft report on the financial crisis.
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EU ministers back AIFM after ECON revises rules (amended)
EUROPE – European Union finance ministers have backed proposals to regulate hedge funds and private equity funds just hours after the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) adopted a revised position on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive on Monday.
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Pension managers to increase focus on data quality
UK – A study of some of the UK's largest pension schemes has revealed that accuracy of data and consistency in data security are two important concerns for scheme managers when assessing data management.
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UK roundup: ONS, Lincolnshire, Visteon trustees
UK – Membership of UK employer sponsored pension schemes dropped to 50% of the total workforce in 2009, according to latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
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Barnier calls for 'dynamic compromise' but sticks to script ahead of AIFM vote
EUROPE – EU commissioner Michel Barnier has said he is hopeful that the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive will remain "as close as possible" to its original proposals ahead of this evening's vote by the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON).
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Nascent Turkish pensions sector surges 40%
TURKEY – Assets managed by Turkey’s nascent private pension system grew by more than 40% in 2009, higher than in any other OECD country.
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Overseas equities drive up Icelandic pension assets
ICELAND – Net pension fund assets at the end of March increased by approximately ISK44bn to ISK1.846trn (€11.3bn) as the value of foreign equity investments increased, figures from the Central Bank of Iceland have revealed.
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Irish roundup: IAPF on DC contributions, PIPS guidance
IRELAND – Contribution levels set out in the National Pensions Framework will send out the wrong message to members of defined contribution (DC) schemes, the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has warned.
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NPRF increases stake in AIB
IRELAND – The National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) has received almost two million shares in Allied Irish Banks (AIB) worth approximately €250m instead of an annual €280m cash payment.
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Proposed reforms will not make French pensions sustainable
FRANCE - A French government minister has conceded that sustainable funding for its current pension system “is not possible”. The admission comes after simulations exposed funding shortfalls facing the country’s pension system, despite proposed reforms.
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Norway’s occupational DB schemes given more time to reform
NORWAY - Defined benefit (DB) occupational pension structures in Norway will be allowed to operate in accordance with existing rules beyond 1 January 2011 when the new legislation for the state old-age pension comes into force.
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Barnier calls for EU-US convergence on financial oversight
EUROPE – Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for the internal market and services, has claimed 2010 is the "year of convergence" and says legislation to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory systems for financial services will be implemented by next year.
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Iain Duncan Smith appointed UK pensions secretary
UK – Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative party leader, has been appointed secretary of state for work and pensions in the UK's first coalition government for more than 30 years.
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NewsGreece overhauls its pensions system
GREECE – The Greek government yesterday approved a law to bring in a number of pension cuts in a bid to prevent the country’s ailing retirement system from collapsing.
