Latest news with #BaFin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German watchdog finds no abuse in companies' pre-results calls with analysts
By Tom Sims FRANKFURT (Reuters) -An investigation by Germany's financial watchdog has found no reason to change companies' practice of communicating with analysts before publishing results, following media concerns about the potential disclosure of insider information. Regulators have taken a closer look at so-called pre-close calls after media reports highlighted an apparent connection between high volatility in share prices and the communication with analysts. Germany's BaFin watchdog disclosed at a conference on Monday the findings of a study it began last year. Details will likely be published this week. "We do not currently see any systematic problems with the execution of pre-close calls," Christoph Schell, a BaFin official who studies market surveillance and abuse, said at the conference. Strong price reactions are isolated cases, and there is no need to tighten rules around the calls, he added. Last year, the European Union's securities watchdog warned that companies should not share market-sensitive information with external analysts ahead of their financial statements. The practice of pre-close calls is widespread - not just in Germany. It is typically communication before the publication of financial statements, between a company and analysts who generate research, forecasts and recommendations on the company's shares and bonds. Supporters say the calls contribute to the orderly functioning of markets. Schell said that BaFin found in its study that 63% of companies listed on Germany's DAX index of blue-chips and the MDAX of smaller companies hold pre-close calls. More than 90% of those companies conduct individual chats with analysts, he said. BaFin found that 70% of the market trading around calls it investigated showed no significant market reaction, while only 10% did. "We have investigated these cases and have so far found no evidence of any unauthorized disclosure of insider information," Schell said. He added that companies should nevertheless be as transparent as possible, by announcing the calls on their websites and holding them in a group format rather than individually.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
German watchdog finds no abuse in companies' pre-results calls with analysts
FRANKFURT, June 2 (Reuters) - An investigation by Germany's financial watchdog has found no reason to change companies' practice of communicating with analysts before publishing results, following media concerns about the potential disclosure of insider information. Regulators have taken a closer look at so-called pre-close calls after media reports highlighted an apparent connection between high volatility in share prices and the communication with analysts. Germany's BaFin watchdog disclosed at a conference on Monday the findings of a study it began last year. Details will likely be published this week. "We do not currently see any systematic problems with the execution of pre-close calls," Christoph Schell, a BaFin official who studies market surveillance and abuse, said at the conference. Strong price reactions are isolated cases, and there is no need to tighten rules around the calls, he added. Last year, the European Union's securities watchdog warned that companies should not share market-sensitive information with external analysts ahead of their financial statements. The practice of pre-close calls is widespread - not just in Germany. It is typically communication before the publication of financial statements, between a company and analysts who generate research, forecasts and recommendations on the company's shares and bonds. Supporters say the calls contribute to the orderly functioning of markets. Schell said that BaFin found in its study that 63% of companies listed on Germany's DAX index of blue-chips and the MDAX of smaller companies hold pre-close calls. More than 90% of those companies conduct individual chats with analysts, he said. BaFin found that 70% of the market trading around calls it investigated showed no significant market reaction, while only 10% did. "We have investigated these cases and have so far found no evidence of any unauthorized disclosure of insider information," Schell said. He added that companies should nevertheless be as transparent as possible, by announcing the calls on their websites and holding them in a group format rather than individually.
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
German financial watchdog: AI is helping to catch market abuse
FRANKFURT :Germany's financial regulator BaFin is using artificial intelligence to help it spot market abuse and suspicious patterns in trading, increasing the chances of catching offenders, a top official warned on Monday. BaFin President Mark Branson said the supervisor had started using artificial intelligence last year in its alert and market analysis system. "We can already see from this that the results of this analysis system have become more accurate," Branson said at a conference. "The chances of being caught in market abuse trading have never been so high, and here in Germany we know that the penalties for this can also be considerably high," he warned. BaFin under Branson has been trying to burnish its reputation after the fall of Wirecard, a former blue-chip hailed as a German success story and once worth $28 billion. The supervisor failed to spot accounting fraud at Wirecard ahead of its collapse in 2020, resulting in an effort to give BaFin "more bite" with a change in top leadership and more powers to spot and investigate wrongdoing.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
German financial watchdog: AI is helping to catch market abuse
Germany's financial regulator BaFin is using artificial intelligence to help it spot market abuse and suspicious patterns in trading, increasing the chances of catching offenders, a top official warned on Monday. BaFin President Mark Branson said the supervisor had started using artificial intelligence last year in its alert and market analysis system. "We can already see from this that the results of this analysis system have become more accurate," Branson said at a conference. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What's my car worth? Take a look here (you might be surprised) Cars | Value Learn More "The chances of being caught in market abuse trading have never been so high, and here in Germany we know that the penalties for this can also be considerably high," he warned. BaFin under Branson has been trying to burnish its reputation after the fall of Wirecard, a former blue-chip hailed as a German success story and once worth $28 billion. Live Events The supervisor failed to spot accounting fraud at Wirecard ahead of its collapse in 2020, resulting in an effort to give BaFin "more bite" with a change in top leadership and more powers to spot and investigate wrongdoing. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
German financial watchdog: AI is helping to catch market abuse
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin (Bundesanstalt fuer Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) is pictured outside of an office building of the BaFin in Bonn, Germany, April 15, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's financial regulator BaFin is using artificial intelligence to help it spot market abuse and suspicious patterns in trading, increasing the chances of catching offenders, a top official warned on Monday. BaFin President Mark Branson said the supervisor had started using artificial intelligence last year in its alert and market analysis system. "We can already see from this that the results of this analysis system have become more accurate," Branson said at a conference. "The chances of being caught in market abuse trading have never been so high, and here in Germany we know that the penalties for this can also be considerably high," he warned. BaFin under Branson has been trying to burnish its reputation after the fall of Wirecard, a former blue-chip hailed as a German success story and once worth $28 billion. The supervisor failed to spot accounting fraud at Wirecard ahead of its collapse in 2020, resulting in an effort to give BaFin "more bite" with a change in top leadership and more powers to spot and investigate wrongdoing. (Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Louise Heavens)
