We have revised our approach to focus on the big themes for the next legislative period. We are targeting the interaction of the driving forces of politics and economics as they force the required changes in over-arching financial regulation. Details of these services are here

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General Policy

BIS' Carstens: The quest for financial integration in Europe and globally : Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, reviews possible ways to address market fragmentation at the global level and focuses on market integration within the euro area. View Article

Banking Union

ECB announces changes to new targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) : The Governing Council of the ECB decided to modify some of the key parameters of the TLTRO III to preserve favourable bank lending conditions, ensure the smooth functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism and further support the accommodative stance of monetary policy. View Article

EU financial regulators highlight risks of a no-deal Brexit and search for yield : The latest report on "Risks and Vulnerabilities in the EU Financial System" published by the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) shows that the European Union's banking, insurance, pensions and securities sectors continue to face a range of risks. View Article

European Parliament gives green light to Christine Lagarde : Christine Lagarde obtained Parliament’s approval to be the ECB’s next President. View Article

Financial Times: European banks fear no escape from negative rates : European lenders are bracing for deeper cost cuts and consolidation after the European Central Bank extended a punishing five-year stretch of negative interest rates. View Article

Capital Markets Union

Financial Times: London strengthens grip on currencies market, BIS survey shows : London has strengthened its grip as the global centre for the vast foreign exchange and derivatives markets, pulling away from New York and shrugging off fears that Brexit would dent its dominance. View Article

Fin Tech Regulation

Bruegel: Hybrid and cybersecurity threats and the European Union’s financial system : Exploring preparations to increase the resilience of the financial system authors find that the EU finance ministers should advance a broader political discussion on the integration of the EU security architecture applicable to the financial system. View Article

Financial Times: Central banks should not issue digital currencies : Rather than rush to compete with the likes of Facebook, Tether and WeChat, or ban them outright, central banks would be better off following the PBoC model of bringing digital payments into the central banking fold and focusing on what they do best: managing stability, writes Izabella Kaminska. View Article

Economic Policies Impacting EU Finance

SUERF: Strengthened EU fiscal framework: fiscal discipline versus economic stabilization : Fiscal sustainability on the one hand and fiscal space, both on the national levels and the EU level, on the other hand have led to a discussion about the design of fiscal rules and the pros and cons of a (central) fiscal capacity. View Article

Financial Times: Eurozone wakes up to ECB’s fiscal message as economy weakens : Martin Sandbu writes that Mario Draghi has grown more forthright in urging governments to help boost growth. View Article

POLITICO: Mario Draghi’s parting gift to the eurozone : The European Central Bank president, who will soon hand over to Christine Lagarde, unveiled a package of long-term measures intended to boost the eurozone's sluggish economy. View Article

EU27 Politics

POLITICO: New Commission bows to the populists : New power structure shows populist rhetoric has infiltrated EU executive, warns Camino Mortera-Martinez. View Article

Andrew Duff: How the new Commission will treat EU constitutional reform : There is a lot at stake when it comes to the government of Europe. Ursula von der Leyen and her team have a good opportunity to drive its reform in the direction of federal union. View Article

Brexit

The Times: Hardliners may back Boris ‘Hulk’ Johnson’s new deal : Some ERG members have conceded that an agreement is possible, as Johnson, comparing himself to the green giant, vows to ‘escape’ the EU. View Article

Jeremy Corbyn: Only Labour will give the people a final say on Brexit : Boris Johnson will crash Britain out of the EU. The Lib Dems will overturn the 2016 referendum. But I’ll deliver a public vote, promises Corbyn in The Guardian. View Article

IB Times: EU downbeat after Johnson-Juncker Brexit talks : Britain has not proposed any workable alternatives to its Brexit withdrawal agreement, the EU said after talks with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended without a breakthrough. Johnson said he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask his European counterparts to postpone Brexit for a third time. View Article

The Guardian: Lib Dems pledge to revoke Brexit without referendum : The Liberal Democrats have overwhelmingly approved the party’s plan of going into an election with the promise to revoke Brexit without a referendum, despite warnings from delegates at their annual conference in Bournemouth that it risked alienating some voters. View Article

YouGov: Despite difficulties in Parliament, Boris has grown in popularity since becoming PM : The latest YouGov favourability data also finds that Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson is now much more recognisable to the public. View Article

Financial Times: FCA chief calls on EU to soften stance on markets in event of no-deal Brexit : The head of the UK markets regulator has called on Brussels to offer more equivalence permits to smooth potential disruption to markets if the UK leaves the EU without a deal next month. View Article