European securities regulators are cracking down on the conflict of interest between investment banking and equity research, as the issue comes to a head in the US.

Market authorities in France and Germany said last week that they were urgently addressing the issue, with new legislation expected this summer. In France, the Conseil des Marchés Financiers (CMF) published a 10-point code for financial analysts detailing how they must reveal potential conflicts of interest between their research and investment banking activity in research reports.