Articles from 27 November - 3 December
General Financial Policy
Video conference of the Eurogroup : The Eurogroup agreed to proceed with the reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM): to sign the revised ESM treaty and to launch its ratification.
Commissioner Gentiloni at the Eurogroup press conference : "The agreement we reached on the ESM Treaty and on the backstop is good news for the stability and resilience of the euro area and as such it is good news forour citizens and businesses."
CER: Judy Asks: Can the EU solve the budget and rule-of-law crisis? : Hungary and Poland have vetoed the next EU budget in protest of a new rule-of-law conditionality. What instruments and treaties can Europe use to circumvent Budapest and Warsaw’s hostage-taking?
Banking Union
Project Syndicate: European Banking’s Moment of Merger Truth : The 2008-09 GFC left EU Banks saddled with excess capacity, diminished profitability, and tarnished reputations. The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing another sweeping change in the industry. This time, however, the industry's biggest problem is not "too big to fail," but rather "too slow to adapt."
FT: Brussels seeks to help banks offload rising tide of bad loans : Paper will set out ideas for how to tackle forecast increase in corporate distress. Brussels is planning to lay out a raft of proposals in a bid to make it easier for EU banks to offload soured loans as it anticipates the risk of a pandemic-related wave of corporate distress.
Parliament and Council strike a deal on the orderly termination of benchmarks : Negotiators agreed on provisions to ensure EU financial market stability, ahead of the expected cessation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in 2021.
Capital Markets Union
CEPS: Is Europe’s Capital Markets Union now in sight? : The Capital Markets Union (CMU) project has now taken on new relevance. Mobilising private funding for recovery coupled with sustainable and digital finance strategies is sorely needed
EFAMA: Joint Association letter to the EC on the equivalence of UK derivatives regulated markets under EMIR Article 2a : ..equivalence decisions are still outstanding in other critical areas of financial services, including in relation to UK regulated markets under EMIR Article 2a. This is a standalone issue, for EU EMIR purposes only, and can be addressed independently...
ISDA: Letter on Equivalence of UK Derivatives Regulated Markets Under EMIR Article 2a : ISDA co-signed a joint trade association letter asking the European Commission to issue an equivalence determination under EMIR Article 2a for UK regulated markets.
EFAMA ANNUAL ASSET MANAGEMENT REPORT: THE INDUSTRY BELLWETHER : EFAMA published the 12th edition of its Asset Management Report*. The report aims to provide a unique and comprehensive set of facts and figures on the state of the industry at the end of 2018 but also to highlight the fundamental role of asset managers in the financial system and wider economy.
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
GRI: Sustainability reporting is growing, with GRI the global common language : GRI has welcomed research that shows a record number of companies, spanning sectors and geographic regions, are voluntarily choosing to disclose their sustainability impacts – with the GRI Standards the most widely used for reporting.
Bruegel: Green certificates: a better version of green bonds : "... We propose an alternative: issuance of regular bonds with attached green certificates that ensure earmarking for green purposes. The new design would reduce financing costs and in turn would provide incentives to start a greater number of environmentally-friendly projects."
EFRAG: JEAN-PAUL GAUZÈS IS SEEKING INPUT ON HIS PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS RESULTING FROM HIS EC AD PERSONAM MANDATE ON NON-FINANCIAL REPORTING S : EFRAG President Jean-Paul Gauzès is inviting all interested stakeholders to contribute input to his preliminary proposals regarding changes to the governance structure and financing of EFRAG if the latter were entrusted with the development of EU non-financial reporting standards.
Fin Tech Regulation
EP: FinTech Working Group monitors benefits and threats of digital finance : In a meeting dedicated primarily to analysing the benefits, risks and challenges of global stablecoins, MEPs quizzed the invited speakers about the prospects of a digital euro.
Economic Policies Impacting EU Finance
European Council: Fair and effective taxation: Council adopts conclusions : EU member states want to ensure that EU tax policy remains fit for purpose and results in fair and effective taxation in the increasingly globalised and digitalised economy of the 21st century.
Brexit
EURACTIV: Members worry EU will bend as Brexit talks run out of road : EU member states on Tuesday (1 December) warned European negotiators not to lose their nerve in negotiations with Britain, in a rare reproach as post-Brexit talks entered their most delicate phase.
Bloomberg: France Floats Veto Threat Over Brexit Deal as EU Feels Strains : EU ambassadors warn Barnier not to give too much away in talks; Negotiating teams trying to complete deal within next few days
Federal Trust: Starmer stymied? Labour and the future of UK-EU relations : The Parliamentary Labour Party is currently agonising on whether it will vote in support of the future relationship agreement that the UK Government is negotiating with the EU.... Labour is being forced to confront Brexit issues which it has sought to dodge under the leadership of Keir Starmer.
LSE: A peculiar definition of sovereignty is the root cause of a failed Brexit : As we enter the last weeks of negotiation between Britain and the EU, things are not looking good. All the possible outcomes look both painful and expensive for the UK. How did we get here? At the root of the problem is the British government’s definition of sovereignty...
Bloomberg: London ‘Thrown to the Lions’ as Brexit Finance Deal Unlikely : Growing signs of trading, assets and people moving to Europe; London’s long-standing advantages may help soften Brexit. The golden age of the City of London began with a big bang. It’s ending with a whimper.
NatWest's Green: A note on the implications of Brexit for the delivery of financial services to corporates across Europe : Most of the analysis of the impact of Brexit on financial services has focussed on the consequences for the providers of financial services rather than the end-users, the customers.
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