London, 8 September 2010

EDHEC Risk Institute Supports the Objective of Better Regulation of the Derivatives Markets for Commodities but Criticises the Motivation behind the French Position on the Subject.

In an open letter to European Commissioner Michel Barnier, EDHEC Risk Institute supports the idea of better regulation of the derivatives markets for commodities requested by France in a recent report sent to the commissioner by the French Ministers of the Economy, Energy and Agriculture, and which serves as a basis for the French position ahead of its future presidency of the G20, but criticises the motivations behind the French request, which it considers cannot be a starting point for a credible European initiative.

According to EDHEC Risk Institute, the objectives of improved transparency and security of transactions carried out on the derivatives markets are praiseworthy and are in line with the consensual conclusions of the Pittsburgh summit, but it would be regrettable if the necessary support of all actors for strengthening the regulation of the international markets comes up against ideological presumptions and preconceptions that could ultimately lead to a genuine misunderstanding on both sides of the Channel or the Atlantic.

The assumption that underlies the French initiative, namely that derivative instruments are currently one of the causes of the high level of volatility in commodity prices, has absolutely not been demonstrated and is contradicted both by EDHEC Risk Institute’s own work and also by two recent empirical studies conducted by the two main international economic organisations with whose work the European Union is associated, namely the IMF and the OECD.

This absence of a genuine and serious cause behind the request to regulate the derivatives market for commodities does not make the French position credible and in EDHEC’s opinion cannot seriously lead to support from all the European countries and more globally, the countries concerned by the subject.

In these conditions, EDHEC Risk Institute thinks that the European Commission should not commit to regulatory initiatives that are as important for the structure of the financial markets without the facts and arguments being clearly and objectively established.

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EDHEC Risk Institute is part of EDHEC Business School, one of Europe’s leading business schools and a member of the select group of academic institutions worldwide to have earned the triple crown of international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, Association of MBAs). www.edhec-risk.com