US fends off G20 push for global finance cop

The Group of 20 summit came together on principles for regulations to help avert future crises but stopped short of an agreement for a global financial market enforcer, analysts said.

The lame-duck administration of US President George W. Bush was unlikely to bend to European pressure for a supranational financial regulator that would limit flexibility for national governments, according to observers.

"President Bush was not going to agree to any kind of international enforcement mechanism," said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former chief of staff of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers who is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

"He would agree to principles but not to any mechanism that would punish the United States for not taking specific action."

As part of its six-point plan for tackling the financial crisis, the G20 leaders said in a statement that market regulation remains a national responsibility but that harmonization is needed to keep problems from spilling across borders.

"Regulation is first and foremost the responsibility of national regulators who constitute the first line of defense against market instability," the G20 statement said.

"However, our financial markets are global in scope, therefore, intensified international cooperation among regulators and strengthening of international standards, where necessary, and their consistent implementation is necessary to protect against adverse cross-border, regional and global developments affecting international financial stability."

Furchtgott-Roth said that despite the lack of an agreement on more specific enforcement, the move points toward progress in harmonizing and strengthening rules.

"Fulfilling the principles will be left to the individual countries, some of which may do it and some of which may not do it," she said.

"I think there is a great desire among all these countries to get us out of the global mess and I think they will do their best ... there will be an honest effort on the part of all these governments to work on all of these principles."

She added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had pushed for a more specific regulatory scheme because "they wanted to minimize the power of the United States. They did not succeed in that."

Furchtgott-Roth said US president-elect Barack Obama has remained on the sidelines of the G20 but added that he was unlikely to agree to such a scheme "because that would reduce his options for governing."

Robert Brusca at FAO Economics said the G20 offered "nothing specific" on financial regulation of exotic financial instruments or hedge funds aside from a pledge on cooperation and harmonization.

In that regard, and in avoiding specifically blaming the United States for the crisis, Brusca called the statement a US "victory."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the summit leaders were striving "to ensure that we undertake the necessary financial system reforms to prevent this type of crisis from occurring again. And in doing so, the summit has agreed on five major core principles to guide regulatory reform."

The G20 statement said regulators "must ensure that their actions support market discipline, avoid potentially adverse impacts on other countries, including regulatory arbitrage, and support competition, dynamism and innovation in the marketplace."

The G20 action plan calls for more disclosure on complex financial instruments and incentives aligned "to prevent excessive risk taking."

Among stepped-up plans for bolstering regulation, the G20 said they would "exercise strong oversight over credit rating agencies, consistent with the agreed and strengthened international code of conduct."

Ryan Sweet at Economy.com said it was not surprising to see the G20 steer clear of any specific regulatory scheme.

"While regulation is needed, the current priority should be to stabilize financial markets and stimulate the global economy," he said.

"New regulation and reform should be on the back burner until the global economy finds its footing.