BASEL – Global regulators plan to identify publicly the handful of countries that aren’t cooperating with the call by world leaders for all jurisdictions to adhere to the post-crisis regulatory and supervisory standards set by the Group of Twenty (G20) largest economies.

WASHINGTON – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) vice chairman Martin Gruenberg is the leading contender to replace Sheila Bair who is stepping down as chairman of the agency in July, according to US media speculation.

NEW YORK – Recovery in the US banking system since the 2007-09 credit crisis has been given a mixed report card by the rating agencies. In an early May assessment, Fitch Ratings says US banks are generally more liquid than is suggested by the new Basel III liquidity standards. But, Moody’s Investor Services concludes in a separate note that the outlook remains negative, reflecting continued challenges in America’s operating environment, asset quality vulnerabilities, and persistent risks that continue to weigh on banks' profitability and capitalisation.

LUXEMBOURG/LONDON – A series of regulatory initiatives since the financial crisis are set to influence the competitive landscape for European asset managers. While pre-crisis regulation focused mainly on market efficiency, many of the new measures are focused on issues of investor protection. At the same time, the pace and rigor of these developments may increase costs and complexity with potential implications for the way in which investment fund managers structure their business and plan their strategy, according to the latest paper on European asset management published by State Street, a leading global custody and asset management firm.

The aim is to produce a standard for measuring the value of insurance contracts - the policies sold by insurance firms which form the bulk of their liabilities - that provides a consistent measurement basis. It’s something that’s notoriously difficult to achieve because of the absence of an active secondary market to provide benchmark prices.

BRUSSELS – The integration of EU financial markets seems to have reached a standstill. In some sectors, such as sovereign, money and credit markets, integration has been reversed, as measured by cross-border financial flows and price differences, according to a report prepared by the European Commission.

NEW YORK – A new proposal from US regulators for cracking down on the derivatives market will make US firms less competitive with their international rivals, the New York congressional delegation wrote in a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other regulators in mid-May as GRR went to press.

MELBOURNE, Australia – The liquidity rules of the Basel III reform package mean Australian banks will continue to rebalance their funding to make greater use of deposits and longer-term wholesale funding. They will make less use of short-term wholesale funding, a top banking supervisor said in April.

LONDON – There needs to be greater consistency in applying Pillar 2 supervisory oversight provisions if the Basel III bank reform package is to be implemented on a level playing field, according to professional services firm KPMG.

LONDON/NORWALK, Connecticut – Global banking supervisors are backing an accounting approach that favours the grossing-up of financial assets and liabilities on balance sheets to which the banking industry remains strongly opposed.