Citigroup trades spark call for EU regulation

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Citigroup trades spark call for EU regulation
>By P?ivi Munter in London
>Published: February 7 2005 19:33 | Last updated: February 7 2005 19:33

Citigroup's controversial eurozone government bond trades, which are currently being investigated by several European watchdogs, have sparked calls for Europe-wide regulation in the market.
Pervenche B?res, who chairs the European Parliament's influential committee on economic and monetary affairs, on Monday told the Financial Times that co-ordination among the national regulators in the Citigroup case was lacking and had highlighted the need for a regulator with Europe-wide powers.
"You can't have a single market without a lead regulator overseeing it," Ms B?res said.
Eurozone governments issue most of their debt in euros but supervision of the euro market is in the hands of national regulators.
The comments follow the publication in the FT last week of an internal Citigroup memorandum, which was dated two