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18 May 2022

The EFR published its position paper “Ensuring competitiveness of the European financial sector”


The achievement of open strategic autonomy in the area of financial markets requires ensuring that the attractiveness of EU financial markets and the competitiveness of EU financial market participants remains a cornerstone of the EU’s financial strategy.

These attractiveness and competitiveness considerations need to be integrated into every aspect of the legislative work of the Union in relation to financial markets to account for the diverse needs of EU investors and corporate companies, to raise capital (equity listing, private equity, bonds, etc.), invest (funds, structured products) and hedge risks (OTC derivatives).

It is crucial that the recent European reform proposals ensure level playing fields (in the implementation of Basel III as well as in the on-going review of Solvency II for instance), foster the deepening of EU financial markets (CMU initiative, securitisation market, etc.) and enable to keep significant European players that need to be enhanced rather than weakened by an excessive regulation and an efficient deployment of the available capital in the markets.

Taking into account the elements of attractiveness and competitiveness in regulatory and supervisory work would imply:

  • for each envisaged evolution of the regulatory framework, the impact on the attractiveness of EU capital markets and on the competitiveness of EU market participants is systematically assessed;
  • adding the consideration of attractiveness and competitiveness as a secondary statutory objective for selected European authorities (first and foremost the European Supervisory Authorities).

In order to enable the Digital Transformation of the financial services industry, the EU authorities need to ensure that the regulatory framework for EU financial services is consistent at international level, ensures fair competition, reduces the prudential burden for the non-core business of regulated entities and adequately regulates new entrants.

Additionally, in the wider digital context, the EU should enable its financial sector to reap the benefits of a horizontal data sharing framework and easily take up new technologies and develop digital innovations (AI, cloud, DLT, crypto assets). This should be done through a robust EU digital operational resilience framework (DORA).


EFR



© EFR - European Financial Services Round Table


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