Speaking at an international conference on financial services held in Brussels yesterday (27 January), McCreevy made clear that an ongoing consultation on hedge funds, launched by the Commission in December, will result in "appropriate regulatory initiatives".
But he remained vague about whether similar measures should be adopted for private equity.
The industry has grown significantly in recent years, and now finds itself faced with fierce criticism for its impact on employment and the alleged risks it poses to the stability of the wider financial system.
Buy-outs of large companies by private equity firms are indeed highly regarded by many as operations that fuel the wealth of rich investors and managers. But they also increase unemployment when companies are subsequently dismantled for resale.
However, a recent study published by EVCA, which represents the private equity industry, challenges this widespread view. It argues that private equity ownership often improves workers' conditions. Moreover, many others, including McCreevy, question the real risk to financial stability posed by private equity firms.
Against a background of unclear responsibilities, especially in relation to the current financial crisis, McCreevy has so far applied his traditional laissez-faire approach to private equity firms, asking the sector to adopt self-regulatory codes but opting not to intervene directly.
This attitude has been attacked by the Party of European Socialists (PES), which is keen to put an end to what it refers to as "casino capitalism". In an exchange of letters with Barroso, the main PES representatives in the European Parliament (Martin Schulz, Pervenche Beres and Poul Nyrup Rasmussen) referred to McCreevy's inaction as "more appropriate for a paid lobbyist of the finance industry than a European commissioner" (EurActiv 18/12/08).
Barroso replied in a letter offering the MEPs various assurances. "No financial player should be exempt from regulation and oversight," he wrote. "That is a clear commitment on our part. It means that hedge funds and private equity must be covered."
But McCreevy has since remained vague about the issue of private equity regulation, triggering new attacks from the Socialists.
Yesterday, in front of many delegates from the financial services industry, he confirmed his usual line. But he did concede that an "assessment of the effectiveness of self-regulatory codes in the private equity industry [...] will be discussed at a high-level conference in Brussels in February".
