Furse: Enron could not happen here
The UK's disclosure rules would not have allowed a disaster like Enron to occur, says Clara Furse, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.
Her comments fly in the face of a speech made by FSA chief Howard Davies in February, when he said an Enron-style disaster could, indeed, happen in the UK, by which he meant a corporate collapse of similar size and impact.
But speaking at the annual convention of the Institute of Directors, Clara Furse said she could not envisage Enron happening in the UK, with its strictprinciples-based disclosure rules.
She said the disclosure regime would have highlighted Enron’s problems long before they got to a critical stage.
The US is now looking at the London Stock Exchange’s disclosure rules to prevent Enron from happening again, according to Furse.