Lost in translation

Many credit market participants agree that a single European financial services market would be good for all concerned. But there is widespread doubt over whether the EU is the right architect for the project. Oliver Holtaway reports

The EU is committed to creating a single European financial services market, and the harmonisation of disclosure and transparency requirements is touted as a driving force towards market standardisation. So when European finance ministers voted in November to strike a clause from the EU transparency directive that would impose a quarterly reporting requirement on any company whose securities trade in the EU, sighs of frustration were heard across Euroland.

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