A new working paper from the Bank of England has examined the effects of changes in capital requirements as a macro-prudential tool for smoothing the credit cycle.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has suggested that European Commission proposals for reforming credit rating agencies may have a detrimental effect on the quality of the rating process and the reliability of ratings themselves.

The European Central Bank argues that despite an objective of hedging being to share risk, the effect can in fact be an increase in risk-taking, as negative news about the hedge creates an incentive problem for the seller.

The European Banking Authority has released for comment draft technical standards for the implementation of supervisory reporting requirements.

This discussion paper from the Bank of England sets out the regulatory tools which it believes the Financial Policy Committee will need to perform macro-prudential supervision effectively.

The European Central Bank’s 2011 biannual Financial Stability Review provides an assessment of the risks to financial stability which have emerged since June 2011, pointing in particular to an unprecedented loss of confidence in sovereign signatures.

The Irish Takeovers Panel has proposed its third set of changes to the takeovers rules in the past year.

The Irish Law Reform Commission has launched a consultation paper on insurance contracts which assesses current insurance contract law and makes a number of detailed recommendations on potential reform of the law in this area.

The Financial Reporting Council has issued a consultation paper on whether the UK Corporate Governance Code should be revised to require listed companies to publish their policy on gender diversity in the boardroom and report against it annually.

The Financial Reporting Council, following feedback from its consultation paper, Gender Diversity on Boards, has announced changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code aimed at promoting greater gender diversity at board level.