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My highlights of the week: Parliament and Council have still not agreed the fine details of the Resilience and Recovery Fund so it is not surprising that Eurogroup shied away from even thinking about a second package – to match the second Covid wave. However, ECOFIN did push forward `more Europe’ against money laundering – giving the Commission guidance on a single rule book and EU-level supervision. CMU got another push as EFAMA called for a Consolidated Tape and – at the intensely technical level – the Commission tabulated corporate law for each state as part of the implementation of CSDR. ESMA gave the FT a `pat on the back’ – rightly – for it works in exposing the Wirecard fraud.
The odds have moved towards a no-deal Brexit after 14 days of “intensive negotiations” failed to bridge the remaining `small gaps’ between the EU and UK. After the tortuous twists and turns, it is hardly surprising that the Institute for Government reported that neither government nor business are fully prepared!
Graham Bishop
Articles from 29 October - 5 November
General Financial Policy
Remarks by Paschal Donohoe following the Eurogroup video conference of 3 November 2020 : We have issued a statement today, on behalf of the Eurogroup, that recalls the safety nets that we agreed in April and our commitment to continue to provide unprecedented budgetary support. All three safety nets are now in place. View Article
EURACTIV: Eurogroup excludes additional EU stimulus against second virus wave : Eurozone finance ministers said late on Tuesday (3 November) that Europe “is now better equipped” to address the COVID-19 crisis and ruled out new joint measures to tackle the second wave of the virus. View Article
EURACTIV: Parliament pushes for easing recovery fund conditionality : The European Parliament will fight to loosen the conditionality required from national governments in order to receive money from the EU recovery fund, according to the negotiating position MEPs will adopt in the coming days. View Article
Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni at the Eurogroup press conference : The numbers in terms of new cases and hospitalisations are in many cases worse than in the first wave. Pressure on hospitals is becoming acute in many parts of Europe. I want to express my admiration and support for the healthcare professionals who are showing such incredible dedication at this time. View Article
InvestEU: Council agrees its position on revised Commission proposal : Member states' EU ambassadors today agreed the Council's partial mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on a revised Commission proposal for the InvestEU programme. View Article
Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the ECOFIN press conference : Today's ECOFIN is taking place as many EU countries are again imposing tighter restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The Commission will publish its autumn economic forecast tomorrow, but already today we can say that we expect a slower recovery than previously thought. View Article
2020 annual report of the European Fiscal Board : The year 2019 marked the first time in almost two decades without any EU Member State under the excessive deficit procedure (EDP). Yet, the aggregate government deficit in the EU slightly increased for the first time since 2011, on the back of recurring slippages in current expenditure. View Article
BusinessEurope: Rapid implementation of EU recovery instrument is key in enduring COVID crisis : Political leaders should avoid any premature unwinding of economic support; EU economic output might be 3% below pre-crisis level by end 2021; Falls in hours worked equivalent to 18 million full time jobs in Q3 View Article
EP: InvestEU Fund - boost for sustainable, innovative and social investment : MEPs from the Budgetary and ECON committees adopted with 71 votes to 17 and 7 abstentions the renewed EU programme to support investments and guarantee access to finance. It will address market failures, sub-optimal investments and the investment gap in targeted sectors, for the period 2021-27 View Article
Banking Union
Video conference of economics and finance ministers:Anti-money laundering and terrorism financing : Ministers discussed the Council conclusions on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing..to give the Commission guidance for its 2021 legislative proposals on a single rule book, EU-level supervision and a coordination and support mechanism for member states' financial intelligence units. View Article
EBA sets out how prudential supervisors should take money laundering and terrorist financing risks into account in the Supervisory Revi : EBA published an Opinion setting out how prudential supervisors should consider money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks in the context of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP)... ongoing work to strengthen the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. View Article
BIS: Implementation of Basel standards - A report to G20 Leaders on implementation of the Basel III regulatory reforms : Overall, further progress has been made since last year in implementing the Basel III standards in a full, timely and consistent manner. In addition, banks have continued to build capital and liquidity buffers while reducing their leverage. View Article
SSM's Enria: Supervisory challenges of the pandemic and beyond : SSM’s countercyclical response to the pandemic. This year, ESM has responded rapidly and forcefully to the coronavirus pandemic. During this starkest of challenges, banking union has proved invaluable in enabling a swift and unified supervisory response across the whole euro area. View Article
German Banking Federation: Comments EBA GL Fit & Proper : GBIC generally criticizes that the present consultation paper, like the previous guidelines, goes beyond the requirements of the CRD View Article
Capital Markets Union
EURACTIV: Are we one step closer to the Capital Markets Union? : The European Commission continues to show a lack of ambition when it comes to constructing a Capital Markets Union, writes Isabel Benjumea---by Isabel Benjumea (Spanish MEP for the European People’s Party and rapporteur on the Capital Markets Union.) View Article
EFAMA: An appropriately constructed Consolidated Tape could help build deeper and more open capital markets in Europe : EFAMA and EFSA welcome the publication of a Market Structure Partners Study on the Creation of an EU Consolidated Tape which addresses the challenges, demand, benefits and proposed architecture for consolidating European financial market data. View Article
ARTICLE 49(1) of CSDR Key relevant provisions of national corporate or similar law : Article 49 (Freedom to issue in a CSD authorised in the Union) of Regulation (EU) No 909/20141 (CSDR) provides that: View Article
AIMA: Financing European Business : Non-bank lending is key to Europe’s post-COVID recovery for SMEs; Non-bank lenders provide $242bn of finance to European businesses; Reforming ELTIF, boosting non-bank lending could see $1.5tn invested by 2030; Reducing barriers to non-bank lenders is key to development of European capital markets View Article
CRE: SII review could reduce capital burden for UK insurers in 2021, says Fitch : The UK could reform “burdensome aspects” of Solvency II (SII) as early as next year, said Fitch in response to a government review of Europe’s capital adequacy regime. View Article
EFAMA: 3 Questions to Jonathan Lipkin on the PEPP and EIOPA proposed Level 2 measures : Q#1 Why is the launch of the PEPP of such strategic importance for the funds industry and overall success of the Capital Markets Union (CMU)? Q #2 Why is making the PEPP a success across Europe so important for European citizens? Q #3 What are your views on the Level 2 measures published by EIOPA? View Article
Insurance Europe: EIOPA and ESRB approach to Solvency II review would undermine insurers in facilitating EC CMU and Green Deal objectives : Insurance Europe – together with other insurance sector bodies – has written to the European Commission to highlight how the Solvency II review provides the key opportunity to enhance insurers’ ability to support the Commission’s growth and sustainability objectives. View Article
CRE: Insurers’ reputation at risk because of clumsy renewals: GVNW : GVNW president Alexander Mahnke has warned insurers that the sector’s already tarnished reputation will be battered even further if they continue with an all too often disproportionate, confused and clumsy approach to renewals. View Article
IPE: Insurance group prods FSB for G20 support for private pension systems : The Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA) has seized on the opportunity of the 2021 Italian G20 presidency to call on the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to support the resilience of private capital-backed pension systems. View Article
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
FT: ‘More attention should have been paid to the FT reporting during the first half of 2019,’ watchdog writes in report : ‘More attention should have been paid to the FT reporting during the first half of 2019,’ watchdog writes in report View Article
EURACTIV: Commission readies implementation of sustainable finance : The European Commission will detail in the coming weeks what could be considered a ‘green’ activity, a technical definition that would help to unlock the massive investment needed to achieve the EU’s climate objectives. View Article
Chair of the IOSCO Task Force on Sustainable Finance reconfirms that IOSCO stands ready to support global sustainability reporting standards : Open response to the open letter from COP, Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) proposing avenues for Working together to meet the needs of the capital markets View Article
EuropeanIssuers raises concerns vis-à-vis the European Commission regarding its plans on Sustainable Corporate Governance and Due Diligence : EuropeanIssuers Advisory Council met and has alerted EU Commissioner for Justice, Mr Didier Reynders, not to launch any legislative action based only on the conclusions of the recently published study on Directors’ Duties and Sustainable Corporate Governance of EY, mandated by the EU Commission. View Article
SSEI: Exchange in Focus: LuxSE first SSE Partner Exchange to win UN Global Climate Action Award : Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) has been recognised by the United Nations Climate Change office for its leadership in promoting green finance. View Article
IPE: UK standards body delivers second sustainable finance ‘specification’ : BSI, the UK national standards body, has published the second output of a sustainable finance standardisation programme sponsored by the government and financial services industry. View Article
Protecting Customers
ESMA submits two draft technical standards under the revised Market Abuse Regulation to the European Commission : ESMA, the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today published the Final Report on the amendments to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) for the promotion of the use of SME Growth Markets (SME GMs). These amendments focused on liquidity contracts and insider lists for SME GMs. View Article
Collective redress for consumers : Council adopts position at first reading : The collective defence of consumers' rights has come a step closer. Following the agreement reached with the European Parliament in June 2020, the Council today adopted its position at first reading on a draft directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers within the EU. View Article
BETTER FINANCE Response to the EU Investor Survey 2020 : BETTER FINANCE responded to a survey on possible problems related to cross-border investments in the EU and on the impact any potential policy options might have. View Article
Fin Tech Regulation
EPC: Putting meaningful transparency at the heart of the Digital Services Act : A coalition of 46 civil society organizations and world-renowned academics join AlgorithmWatch and the European Policy Centre: binding transparency rules for online platforms. The signatories urge the Commission to put meaningful transparency at the heart of its forthcoming Digital Services Act. View Article
ECB's Panetta: The two sides of the (stable)coin : Global stablecoins signal the need for change, but they can pose serious risks, says Executive Board member Fabio Panetta. We should remain open to global competition to foster innovation, but we should first ensure that we are prepared to make the most of it. View Article
Brexit
Bloomberg:EU, U.K. Warn of Big Disagreements After Intensive Brexit Talks : No breakthrough was made after 14 days of negotiations; talks to resume next week as both sides race to reach a deal View Article
Institute for Government: Preparing Brexit: how ready is the UK? : The prime minister’s refusal to extend the Brexit transition period, despite the devastating effects of the coronavirus crisis in the UK and the EU, means that neither the government nor businesses will be fully prepared when the UK leaves the EU on 31 December. View Article
FT: UK fires warning shot at Brussels over post-transition share trading : FCA says it may deviate from EU financial rules if City of London not granted equivalence View Article
European Payments Council: Brexit reminder: how to get ready for the end of the transition period : The UK will maintain participation in the Single Euro payments area geographic scope. However, this important change will make the Credit Transfer/Direct Debit rules applicable to transactions from/to non-European Economic Area jurisdictions also applicable to transactions with the UK. View Article
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