Earthtimes – German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for greater transparency in the workings of hedge funds and rating agencies, while speaking to Japanese business people in Tokyo on Thursday. Staking out the German government’s oft-repeated position, Merkel said the risks arising from highly leveraged financial institutions, like hedge funds, would under certain circumstances “have to be paid for by the people.”
Citizens in a democracy expected politicians to confront these risks, the chancellor said, adding that it was strange that there were strict rules for companies listed on stock exchanges but not for the multitude of new financial institutions and products.
On rating agencies, Merkel said the methods they used in evaluating banks and government bonds should be made more open.
In the past, high ratings had been issued, “which later proved not to be valid,” Merkel said.
Merkel has committed herself to using the final months of the German presidency of the Group of Eight (G8) to revive a theme she and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck wanted on the agenda of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in June.
