Regulatory Race to the Bottom

Regulatory Race to the Bottom

Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Ashley Alder, the FCA’s chairman, warned against indulging in a regulatory race to the bottom. He noted that the election of Trump will lead to a deregulatory agenda in the US that would have a global impact. He hopes that the UK will remember how deregulation was one of the root causes that led to the global financial crisis.

FCA Sued by Small Businesses

Today sees the start of a High Coury suit against the FCA. A number of small businesses are arguing that the regulator acting in an irrational and unfair manner when determining who was eligible to participate in a redress scheme. The scheme was designed to compensate customers of nine banks who were mis sold interest rate swaps. The regulator is accused of setting the “sophistication” bar to high. As a result, ten thousand out of thirty thousand small businesses who lost money were excluded.

Pimco Shuns Longer Dated US Bonds

Pimco has announced that it will be avoiding increasing its exposure to longer dated US government bonds. The world’s major bond investor is worried that Trump’s policies will see ever increasing US debt and inflation. As a result, these instruments will see ever increasing yield leading to falling bond values.

Algo Traders Settle Trade Secrets Row

Jane Street and Millenium Partners have settled a row over the alleged theft of trade secrets. Jane Street had alleged that two former Millenium employees had stolen its proprietary software. It was even suggesting the case should be heard behind closed doors.