German watchdog finds no abuse in companies' pre-results calls with analysts

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -An investigation by Germany's financial watchdog has found no reason to change companies' practice of communicating with analysts before publishing results, following media concerns about the potential disclosure of insider information.

Regulators have taken a closer look at so-called pre-close calls after media reports highlighted an apparent connection between high volatility in share prices and the communication with analysts.

Germany's BaFin watchdog disclosed at a conference on Monday the findings of a study it began last year. Details will likely be published this week.

"We do not currently see any systematic problems with the execution of pre-close calls," Christoph Schell, a BaFin official who studies market surveillance and abuse, said at the conference.

Strong price reactions are isolated cases, and there is no need to tighten rules around the calls, he added.

Last year, the European Union's securities watchdog warned that companies should not share market-sensitive information with external analysts ahead of their financial statements.

The practice of pre-close calls is widespread - not just in Germany. It is typically communication before the publication of financial statements, between a company and analysts who generate research, forecasts and recommendations on the company's shares and bonds. Supporters say the calls contribute to the orderly functioning of markets.

Schell said that BaFin found in its study that 63% of companies listed on Germany's DAX index of blue-chips and the MDAX of smaller companies hold pre-close calls.

More than 90% of those companies conduct individual chats with analysts, he said.

BaFin found that 70% of the market trading around calls it investigated showed no significant market reaction, while only 10% did.

"We have investigated these cases and have so far found no evidence of any unauthorized disclosure of insider information," Schell said.

He added that companies should nevertheless be as transparent as possible, by announcing the calls on their websites and holding them in a group format rather than individually.

(Reporting by Tom Sims. Editing by Mark Potter)