France to Force BNP Paribas, SocGen to Wall Off Prop Trading
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French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici introduced a bill designed to force the country’s largest banks to fence off proprietary trading activities in dedicated units.
The product of months of discussions between industry and government officials, the bill would require banks including BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA to split market activities deemed unnecessary to finance the economy into separately capitalized units. The rules would also forbid banks from holding stakes in hedge funds and limit high-frequency trading and commodity speculation. The bill would also set up a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) resolution fund.