US-EU Regulatory Convergence: Capital Markets Issues

Abstract:     
The U.S. and the E.U. are the two most important areas in terms of capital raising and securities trading, so together they constitute the "G-2" of the capital markets. Through informal leadership, the G-2 can help resolve some important regulatory issues between the U.S. and the E.U. while providing precedents for the global capital markets. The key issues in the U.S. include: reconciliation of accounting systems, extraterritorial application of Sarbanes-Oxley, and U.S. access to E.U. trading screens. The key issues in the E.U. include: E.U. restrictions on pension management, differential treatment of financial conglomerates, and no uniform E.U. rules on takeovers.

Note: This paper was written as part of the "Future of the Transatlantic Project" of the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Center for Applied Policy Studies (CAP) at the University of Munich.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: capital markets, securities regulation

JEL Classification: G15, K22, K33

Accepted Paper Series