EU Weighs New Hedge Fund Rules

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union will this week take the first step toward new rules governing high-risk hedge funds, the EU's financial services chief said Monday.

EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, long opposed to regulating the funds, is bowing to calls from the G20 group of the world's leading industrialized and emerging economies and many European politicians for more oversight for hedge funds that invest large sums and often operate in near secrecy.

He said the European Commission would consult European financial firms and others, sparking a debate that might see regulators eventually come up new rules.

He said he wanted to focus on the risks hedge funds might pose to the financial system if current rules were left in place. EU regulators also have to define hedge funds and consider how they should deal with hedge funds based in jurisdictions with little supervision, he said. ...