A European parliamentary figure leading the drafting of the contentious Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive surprised industry observers yesterday with his muted response to plans to postpone ratification of the legislation yesterday, fuelling hopes the regulation can be slowed further.

The Spanish Government, which currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers (Ecofin), the powerful European Union body scheduled to meet yesterday, decided against discussing the AIFM directive in a late U-turn, as reported by Financial News.