New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Hedge fund regulation was the hot topic at this past weekend’s meeting of European Union leaders, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted a summit in Berlin discussing ways to curtail the financial crisis.

Merkel joined leaders from The Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, England, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg to agree on a unified EU stance prior to London’s G20 Summit in April, where all the world’s leaders will come together to discuss the financial crisis.

"We have today underscored our conviction that all financial markets, products and participants must be subject to appropriate oversight or regulation, without exception and regardless of their country of domicile,” said Merkel.  “This is especially true for those private pools of capital, including hedge funds, that may present a systemic risk," she said, although the details of how hedge funds should be regulated still need to be worked out.  

English Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also expressed his belief that there should be tighter regulation, despite the fact that London is Europe’s premier center for hedge funds.

"Together we will support oversight of under-regulated sectors and I also support proper disclosure and transparency of hedge funds," Brown said earlier this month.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed, saying, “We want regulation of hedge funds, and we’re not going to put up any longer with the bonus reward system of traders and bankers.”

The EU leaders are scheduled to meet again this Sunday.

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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