21  See page 7 of the Remit and Recommendations for the Financial Policy Committee. 12  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  12  That’s what we’ve been tasked with. It’s what we’ve done. And it’s what we’ll continue to do. Thank you. 13  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  13
As you know, a number of policy initiatives have been launched at the global level since the summer, for instance by Financial Stability Forum 5 or by the Porto informal ECOFIN 6 and it is still difficult to anticipate precisely the legal aspects which will be examined more particularly by the various international and European fora and bodies involved in this discussion. However, these initiatives provide an indication of possible legal considerations which might emerge, in particular in the European context. Legal certainty should go hand in hand with transparency. The focus on the transparency of complex financial instruments, of institutions and vehicles and on the appropriate disclosure of information on securitised debt and other structured financial products indicates that there is a need for regulatory and supervisory authorities to have a closer look on the legal frameworks applicable to securitisation transactions and market standards and how special purpose vehicles are currently regulated and supervised in the various EU Member States and at also at the international level. The report of the European Financial Markets Lawyers Group (EFMLG) of May 2007 on legal obstacles to cross-border securitisations in the EU 7 contains recommendations for further convergence of securitisation laws in the EU and invites the Commission to consider the adoption of a EU directive on specific legal aspects of securitisations which would enable Member States to adopt a certain number of principles common to all jurisdictions to ensure a high level of transparency, efficiency and legal certainty with regard to securitisation transactions.