(Corrects to remove incorrect title in headline.)

Jonathan Faull, the European Commission’s director general for financial services, said the European Union is “reasonably well advanced” in preparing regulations to head off the next financial crisis.

He was speaking at the International Capital Markets Association conference in Milan.

On unintended consequences of regulation:

“We need to avoid unintended consequences, to bring about intended consequences and to make sure that when the next crisis happens in three thousand-and-something, our descendants have a robust and effective toolbox to deal with it.”

On so-called shadow banking:

“We are in a consultation phase on ideas for regulation in the shadow-banking sector which will last until June 15.

“Repos are clearly part of the process of maturity transformation and a strong view was also expressed that money market funds, particularly with a constant net asset value, require a stronger regulatory framework than they have today.

“We will have to make up our minds sometime in the last quarter of this year how to go forward on shadow banking, again watching carefully what our main international partners are doing.”

On the importance of investor protection:

“The protection of investors is a very necessary complement to all that we’re doing otherwise to restore stability and confidence in financial markets.”

On growth and stability:

“We think it’s palpably clear that we need both stability and growth and that stability and growth need and feed off each other.”

To contact the reporter on this story: John Glover in London at johnglover@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Armstrong at parmstrong10@bloomberg.net