Talking over hedge fund regulation
Germany is concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability in the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry, but it's not likely to gain much support even for voluntary regulation at this G8 summit. Kyle James reports.
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TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: Yes, global warming will be the big topic at the G8 summit tomorrow in Germany, but there'll be a bit more to the agenda. For example, Germany wants to talk about hedge funds. Kyle James reports from Berlin.
KYLE JAMES: Germany would like to shine some new light on the business of global hedge funds.
The industry may control as much as $2.1 trillion, but Germany's finance minister says there's a lack of transparency and accountability among hedge funds.
Analyst Martin Jäger says the German finance minister wants a clearer window into the relationships between bankers and funds — and funds and their investors.
MARTIN JÄGER: He's not going to go for regulation. What he likes to have is a code of conduct. It's free to accept it by the hedge funds but puts some pressure on the hedge funds to publish information about transactions.
But fellow G8 members the U.S., Britain, Japan and Canada remain staunchly opposed to any interference, even a voluntary code.
The most Germany is likely to get out of G8 members at the summit this week is a vague call for greater "vigilance."
In Berlin, I'm Kyle James for Marketplace.
TEXT OF STORYSCOTT JAGOW: Yes, global warming will be the big topic at the G8 summit tomorrow in Germany, but there'll be a bit more to the agenda. For example, Germany wants to talk about hedge funds. Kyle James reports from Berlin.
KYLE JAMES: Germany would like to shine some new light on the business of global hedge funds.
The industry may control as much as $2.1 trillion, but Germany's finance minister says there's a lack of transparency and accountability among hedge funds.
Analyst Martin Jäger says the German finance minister wants a clearer window into the relationships between bankers and funds — and funds and their investors.
MARTIN JÄGER: He's not going to go for regulation. What he likes to have is a code of conduct. It's free to accept it by the hedge funds but puts some pressure on the hedge funds to publish information about transactions.But fellow G8 members the U.S., Britain, Japan and Canada remain staunchly opposed to any interference, even a voluntary code.
The most Germany is likely to get out of G8 members at the summit this week is a vague call for greater "vigilance."
In Berlin, I'm Kyle James for Marketplace.
