Association Française de la Gestion Financière (AFG), the French fund management profession's trade body, wants companies to inform shareholders of planned levels of medium-term debt as part of sweeping proposals to reform corporate governance.

Jean-Pierre Hellebuyck, chairman of AFG's corporate governance commission, said: "We have seen, in the light of recent crises on the stock markets, that there is a direct link between a company's indebtedness and the volatility of its shares."