European asset managers will feel the heat from CAD3

Compliance with the third capital adequacy directive (CAD3), a consultation paper recently released by the European Commission outlining the implementation of the Basel II Accord into EU legislation, may require European asset managers to hold significantly more capital than they currently do.

This would precipitate reduced profitability, increased levels of risk management and in extreme cases, an industry shakeout. This is according to a Basel II impact study published by risk management consultants Mercer Oliver Wyman (MOW), ‘The new rules of the game’, predicting that even those asset managers exempt from the proposed CAD3 framework, will likely fall into line due to competitive pressures and what it calls "the spirit of Basel".

Thomas Garside, managing director of MOW