Forbes – BRUSSELS (AFX) – European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said greater transparency in the operations of hedge funds would provide reassurance about the stability of the world financial system.
Trichet told the European Parliament economic and monetary affairs committee that increased transparency has led to an improvement in financial stability since the Asian crisis of the 1990s.
‘We have considerably increased the level of transparency in international finance, in the behaviour of the public sector and private institutions. Can we make real progress in transparency in the domain of hedge funds, which would enable us to be more reassured about the stability of the whole of the world financial system? It is a question which is open,’ he said.
He said any measures to increase the transparency of hedge funds need to be decided globally, and the ECB is already in close contact with other central banks and regulatory authorities, particularly in the US and UK.
