14 Amendments of Aloyzas SAKALAS related to 2007/2239(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas it is recognised that alternative investment vehicles such as hedge funds and private equity funds can offer new diversification benefits for asset managers, increase market liquidity and the prospects of high returns for investors, and improve market efficiency; whereas it is also recognised that they take advantage to a large extent of asymmetry of information on financial markets and that the aggregated activities of hedge funds and private equity may create systemic risks and constraints for the real economy and international financial stability,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas EU-based hedge funds and private equity funds require an regulated environment which will respect their innovative strategies in order to enable them to remain internationally competitive while mitigating the effects of potential adverse market dynamics,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas hedge funds and private equity funds which have their management company domiciled in the EU have to comply with existing and future Community legislation; whereas non-EU-based entities also have to comply with this legislation in the context of certain activity,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in some Member States hedge funds and private equity funds are subject to national regulatory regimes; whereas such divergent national rules give rise to the risk of regulatory fragmentation and arbitrage in the internal market, which may have the effect of impeding the cross- border development of this business in Europe, and also, and more importantly, may cause a race to the bottom resulting in weakening of the regulatory and supervisory regime necessary to prevent companies, employees and the real economy from being negatively affected,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas it is recognised that one of the main issues is the need for transparencythe current financial crisis has highlighted a lack of transparency and a need to enhance it at different levels is recognised; whereas transparency has several facets, such as the transparency of hedge funds and private equity funds vis- à-vis the companies whose shares they acquire or own, as well as vis-à-vis prime brokers, institutional investors such as pension funds or banks, retail investors, business partners, regulators and authorities; whereas one of the main transparency deficits lies in the relationship between a hedge fund or private equity fund and the companies whose shares it acquires or owns,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas transparency is an essential condition for investor confidence and the understanding of complex financial products, and thus favours the optimum functioning and stability of the financial markets,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the primary reason for the current sub-prime crisis is not the lack of regulation of investors butlies in several elements such as the lack of regulation of American investment banks, the excesses of the originate-and-distribute model and the securitisation process, failure to comply with the due diligence process, the inadequate valuation of risks as well as the failure of rating agencies; whereas the rating agencies should therefore be made subject in principle to the same compliance rules as those applying to auditors,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas numerous different business initiatives have established their own codes of best practice which may serve as a model for EU legislation; whereas, in addition to complying with EU legislation, companies and business associations should be encouraged to establish their own codes of best practice; whereas those codes should be accompanied by the 'comply or explain' principle and should be properly assessed in a transparent way,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas there seems to be no need for product-related legislationproduct-related legislation does not seem to be the appropriate type of regulation to deal with this innovative sector,
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas securities lending with the purpose of voting on borrowed shares is a bad practice and shareholders with a long-term horizon are preferable to those with a short-term orientation,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas the current structure of corporate governance includes imbalances in terms of ownership, control, transparency, supervision, accountability and information; whereas hedge funds and private equity potentially affect the transparency of the operational management of companies in a negative way,
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – on hedge funds and private equity funds – subparagraph 1
Annex – on hedge funds and private equity funds – subparagraph 1
The European Parliament asks the Commission to submit the appropriate legislative proposals by way of review of the existing acquis communautaire affecting the various types of investors and counterparties, and to adapt or establish rules providing for the clear disclosure and timely communication of relevant and material information so as to facilitate high-quality decision-making and transparent communication between investors and the company management, as well as between investors and other counterparties;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – on hedge funds and private equity funds – subparagraph 4
Annex – on hedge funds and private equity funds – subparagraph 4
With a view to the above-mentioned legislative proposals, the Commission should in particular: – explore the possibility of contract terms, to be applied to alternative investments, that provide for an unambiguous limitation of risk, for measures to be taken in the event of thresholds being exceeded, for adequate disclosure, for a clear description of lock-up periods, and for explicit conditions governing cancellation and termination of the contract; – investigate the issue of money laundering in the context of hedge funds and private equity funds; – harmonise rules and recommendations for registering and identifying shareholders beyond a certain proportion, as well as for disclosure of their strategies and intentions; – propose rules and recommendations to prevent abuse of securities lending for the purpose of exercising voting rights linked to borrowed shares in shareholder meetings; – propose rules and recommendations to oblige intermediaries to enable the original shareholders to participate actively in voting at general meetings of shareholders and to make sure that their voting instructions are respected by proxy- holders, as well as to ensure that voting policies of identified shareholders are disclosed; – establish, together with the industry, a code of best practice on how to rebalance the current structure of corporate governance with a view to reinforcing long-term orientation and discouraging financial and other incentives for short- term excessive risk-taking and irresponsible behaviour;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex – on private equity funds specifically – subparagraph 2
Annex – on private equity funds specifically – subparagraph 2
With a view to the above-mentioned legislative proposal(s), the Commission should examine ways of addressing the issues arising when banks lend huge amounts of money to private equity funds and then disclaim any responsibility whatsoever as to the purpose for which that money is used or the provenance of the money used to repay the loan; the Commission should also examine ways to set an upper limit to the total leverage linked to a single buy-out with a view to the viability of the company.