Europe\'s Solvency II insurance show is getting on the road as experts start to wrestle with the details of the supervisory review process. But the timetable\'s a tough one. David Keefe reports

The new capital framework now in place in Singapore is seen as a positive development for a resilient insurance industry

US banks need powerful systems for Basel II. Only then will they be able to benefit from the fourth quantitative impact study, says guest contributor Dean Jovic of SunGard.

BRUSSELS, September 30 - The European Commission hopes by the end of November to adopt the diluted version of the much disputed IAS 39 accounting rule for valuing financial instruments. The version `carves out\' contentious parts of the rule for resolving later.

MADRID - Bank supervisors must bridge a long-standing gap in cross-border ties as globalisation and sweeping changes to bank safety rules force regulators to work closer together, the world\'s top regulator said last week.

LONDON - It\'s important to recognise the limitations on the simple reliance on home and host regulator as one of the twin pillars of international financial regulation, Britain\'s top financial regulator said last week.

SYDNEY, Australia - Australia\'s regulators believe there\'s a strong case for implementing Basel II from a common end-2007 date, rather than the staggered end-2006/end-2007 start proposed by global banking supervisors.

BANGALORE, India - Implementation of the Basel II bank capital rules could trigger a round of consolidation in India\'s banking sector, according to a top Indian central banker.

HONG KONG - Planning for the pillar 2 supervisory issues of Basel II is possibly even more challenging than for pillar 1 capital requirements, because pillar 2 is not simply a matter of choosing between a limited number of options, a senior Hong Kong regulator said this week.

LONDON, September 24 - International accounting rule-makers are likely to face great difficulties in resolving differences between financial regulators and the financial services industry over the so-called fair value option in the already contentious IAS 39 rule on valuing financial instruments.