Treasury refuses to examine cost of EU hedgie crackdown
CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling is refusing to investigate how much European plans to crackdown on hedge funds will cost the industry.
The Treasury has admitted it will not carry out an “impact assessment” on a EU draft law which could damage London’s position as a global hedge fund centre by imposing a strict disclosure regime and leverage limits.
The government’s own guidelines say it should commission a study into any EU legislation that could burden British businesses with extra costs.
But responding to a freedom of information request by think-tank Open Europe, the Treasury said: “Because of the very foreshortened timescale on which the directive is being negotiated, we will not be publishing a formal impact assessment.”
Open Europe research head Mats Persson said: “The UK government is behind the curve on this and they are breaking their own principles on better regulation.”