The umbrella body for the world’s securities regulators has created a taskforce that would study issues thrown up by the sub-prime crisis and credit market turmoil. Financial Times

The move, by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, could include reopening an earlier investigation into special purpose vehicles, which have been a focus of thorny valuation and accounting issues.

The aim would be to 'better analyse the mechanisms whereby SPVs are kept on the balance sheet and the possible implications in terms of risk measurement and information to investors where listed companies are involved', Iosco said.

The taskforce would see if there were any implications for securities regulators in the way they handled the subprime crisis.