Leaders from the Group of 20 agreed on the following key points:
MORE REGULATION: All “systemically important” financial institutions, instruments and markets must be regulated, including hedge funds – opaque investment vehicles favored by institutional investors and the very rich.
EXECUTIVE PAY: Endorses new principles on pay and compensation to avoid pay schemes that encourage excessive risk taking and reward failure.
TAX HAVENS: Non-cooperative offshore tax havens will be named and shamed, and could face sanctions if they do not agree to accepted international rules. Governments have laid out huge sums and face larger deficits, and are in no mood to see tax revenue slip away.
RATING AGENCIES: These companies, much criticized for giving high ratings to securities that turned out to be risky, should face an international code of good practice to eliminate conflicts of interest. Critics say security issuers pay for the rating and that this constitutes a conflict.
BANK RESERVES: Banks should build up more capital in good times to buffer against downturns, but only after recovery occurs. Many banks have needed new capital during the crisis.
IMF: Another $1 trillion for the world economy through the International Monetary Fund, which loans to governments in financial trouble, and other institutions.
TRADE: Rejection of trade-blocking measures to protect individual countries economies, plus another $250 billion in financing to help trade flow.
All these above points have been “agreed in principle”, which means full implementation, if it ever happens, will take time.

Mike K.