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Oversight of large asset managers in the EU suffers from \u201csupervisory blind spots\u201d due to a patchwork of national authorities, European Central Bank economists have warned.<\/p>\n
Supervision of the bloc\u2019s biggest money managers is\u00a0\u201cnationally fragmented\u201d yet their clients and investment activities are spread across the region and \u201crisks do not stop at borders\u201d, a team of ECB researchers said in a blog post<\/a> published on Friday.<\/p>\n Most funds, including many by BlackRock, Amundi and DWS, are domiciled in either Luxembourg or Ireland due to the countries\u2019 historically favourable institutional framework for the industry and are overseen by their national supervisors. <\/p>\n The economists stopped short of calling for centralised oversight but suggested that the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority<\/a> (Esma) should set up and co-ordinate \u201csupervisory colleges\u201d for the 10 to 15 largest managers, in which \u201crelevant\u201d national authorities promote \u201ca European approach in their supervision\u201d.<\/p>\n Such a move could \u201chelp eliminate supervisory blind spots and reduce fragmentation\u201d, the authors said.<\/p>\n Technically the blog post only represents the personal views of its authors, led by Michael Wedow, deputy head of the ECB\u2019s financial regulation division, and not the ECB\u2019s official position.<\/p>\n However, they state that the EU\u2019s central banks see \u201cmerit in a more integrated supervision of asset managers and funds with significant European cross-border activities\u201d. In December, the European Commission disclosed plans<\/a> for \u201cenhancing\u201d Esma\u2019s \u201cco-ordination role for the asset management sector\u201d.<\/p>\n