Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 459
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News
ECB’s Trichet says contributions could double
EUROPE – European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has warned that pension contributions could double without further reforms.
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ABP taken to court over age discrimination
NETHERLANDS – The new Dutch Alternative Labour Union (AVV) says it has taken giant pension fund ABP to court over age discrimination in the pre-pension for government employees.
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UK national scheme seen impacting trustees
UK – Plans to introduce a national pensions savings scheme could have knock-on effects for existing pension fund trustees, a conference was told today.
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PPF appoints three consultants for levy calculation
UK – The Pension Protection Fund has appointed Barrie and Hibbert Ltd, Moody’s KMV and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) to provide analysis for levy calculations.
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Swiss pension fund interest rate stays 2.5%
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss parliament has decided to leave the minimum interest rate for occupational pension funds at 2.5%.
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Quality control and search engine for Dutch schemes
THE NETHERLANDS - Dutch political parties are proposing to put into place a quality control certification for all Dutch pension funds. If implemented, contributors and pensioners will have the option to find out the current financial situation of their pension fund, its quality control and overall performance.
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UK PPF to review levy calculation for 2008/9
UK – The Pension Protection Fund says it plans a “full review” of how it calculates the levy it charges pension schemes for the 2008/9 levy year.
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NAPF changes stance on pension accounts
UK - The National Association of Pension Funds, under new chief executive Joanne Segars, has changed its mind on plans to introduce individual pension accounts by 2012.
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PGGM may separate asset management and admin
NETHERLANDS – Dutch healthcare pension fund PGGM has confirmed it is discussing separating its asset management and administration from the actual pension fund, and to house both within a cooperative.
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Siemens Swiss pension fund manager arrested
SWITZERLAND – Roland Rümmeli, portfolio manager of the CHF1.7bn (€1.1bn) Siemens Switzerland pension fund, is being held in custody following his arrest in connection with investigations into the Swissfirst scandal on Friday. He was also suspended by the Siemens AG.
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Dutch regulator optimistic on pensions
THE NETHERLANDS - The present position of the Dutch pension funds is reason for cautious optimism, said Dirk Witteveen, director pensions of regulator De Nederlandsche Bank (DnB).
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Planned Hungarian first pillar reforms "insufficient"
HUNGARY - The Hungarian first pillar requires radical "paradigmatic" reform, according to Lajos Bokros, CEO and professor of economics and public policy at the Central European University in Budapest.
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Swedes and Dutch scrutinise private equity funds’ role
EUROPE – A week before general elections, the Swedish government has raised concerns about private equity fund Cevian’s investment approach in Volvo.
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Features
A rough ride on a roller coaster
Volatility will keep on haunting Turkish market participants. But while much of it may be imported, there are domestic factors that need to be brought under control
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Features
Banking sheds old habits
With a series of reforms, the banking system has been transformed from a liability into an asset of the Turkish economy. This has not only prepared the ground for a viable pension system but also sparked interest of foreign banks in the lucrative Turkish market
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KAS positions for pension pooling, directive
EUROPE – KAS Bank says it is well positioned for the burgeoning European asset pooling and pensions market.
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CEE: Exceptional growth
CENTRAL EUROPE - Central and Eastern Europe's second-pillar pension funds recorded exceptional year-on-year growth in 2005, well ahead of the rise in numbers of clients, despite their relatively conservative investment strategies. There have also been relatively few changes in the rankings compared with 2004. There were no changes in the ...
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Netherlands: Interesting times
NETHERLANDS - There's an old Chinese curse that says 'may you live in interesting times'. It might have been coined for the Dutch pensions industry. "All times are interesting, especially for Dutch pension funds," says Jeroen Steenvoorden, director of pension fund for self-employed medical specialists SPMS. "There is so much ...
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UK: General trend into bonds
UK - Recent years have seen a general trend within the UK pensions industry from equities into bonds, according to Joanne Segars, incoming chief executive at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).
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Germany: Book reserves still common
GERMANY - Although there are five different ways of creating an occupational pension the most common, with more than 50% of all pension assets and totalling around €400bn, is still through the book reserves of the employer, according to Klaus Stiefermann, general manager of the Association of Company Pension Schemes ...
