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G20 agrees to reap benefit from financial integration

Xinhua, November 5, 2011

• Leaders of the world's major developed countries and emerging economies agreed Friday to strengthen financial regulations and reap benefits from financial integration, but failed to stay on the same page over specific measures.

  "We have agreed on actions and principles that will help reap the benefits from financial integration and increase the resilience against volatile capital flows," said a final communiqué released at the end of the two-day G20 summit held here in Cannes.

  "We will not allow a return to pre-crisis behaviors in the financial sector and we will strictly monitor the implementation of our commitments regarding banks, OTC markets and compensation practices," the communiqué underlined.

  However, aside from agreeing to task several international organizations to assess CDS (credit default swaps) functions and enhance management against speculation, the G20 leaders failed to iron out differences over the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT), which has been eagerly promoted by this year’s G20 host of France.

  According to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa along with France and Germany, two initiators of the FTT, have expressed support to the tax, but the United States, Canada and some other major powers are opposing it.

  "France is determined to fight for the financial transaction tax" because it is "technically possible, financially indispensable and morally inarguable," Sarkozy urged at the press conference wrapping up the summit.

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