While some feel, given the prevailing conditions, a rain-check would be in order, others maintain any delay would be detrimental. Talk about regulatory reform has gone on long enough, they say: now is the time for action. Both schools of thought were represented at IFR’s Hybrid Capital Roundtable, an event that managed what many regulatory and rating agency enterprises seemingly have not: canvassing the opinions of all corners of the market – issuers, investors and investment bankers alike. The

Jean Dessain - Fortis Jean is General Manager Capital & Funding at Fortis, an international leader in the fields of Banking and Insurance. He is responsible for the capital-raising activities and the coordination of capital relief and funding of the group, as well as optimising portfolios and capital consumption across businesses and maintaining relationships with rating agencies and debt investors. David Soanes - UBS David is Managing Director, Head of IBD FIG EMEA and member of the IBD EME

David Soanes: I am surprised anyone is interested in setting up a new CDS market, considering how the tail has been wagging the dog. What is potentially more interesting is some of the pricing we have seen. Some Triple A UK RMBS traded yesterday at 190bp over swaps for two-years, which is a bizarre price, considering where the Tier 1 from the same issuer is going to be, which is, let’s say 400bp. You have secured debt on an LTV of whatever and you are absolutely certain of your principal back, a

Steve Sahara: Well, maybe we should quickly get to the answers. And this may well not be the time to rethink a small tier of the capital structure. Perhaps we should look at the asset side of the balance sheet, hedging, managing the risks that the capital is up against, things like that. Maybe we should be looking at where we are with sub-prime and other asset classes, maybe that’s the place to focus our energies. Jean Dessain: That’s true, but at the same time they [CEBS] have been working for

Jean Dessain, Fortis: I was invited recently by the European Commission as an industry expert and the first thing I would highlight is the gap between market participants, investment bankers and issuers and the reaction of some regulators and commissioners. They expect so much from hybrid capital and sometimes it is quite unrealistic. At this stage there is no deep convergence. They feel the need to reach an agreement on something. Will it be a good agreement and a stable base to build on, despi