Articles from 13-19 November 2020
General Financial Policy
EURACTIV: McGuiness - Finance: becoming green while in the red : Money talks, but it also needs to listen: listen to the demand for change for a financial system that takes account of non-financial issues, from climate change to social inclusion, writes Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.
Statement by EP Conference of Presidents on long-term EU budget and Rule of Law : The Conference of Presidents met today and reaffirmed the European Parliament’s position regarding the deal reached with the Council on the MFF, the related Inter-institutional Agreement (IIA), the related set of unilateral and joint declarations, and the regulation on Rule of Law conditionality.
EURACTIV: Hungary and Poland veto stimulus against pandemic : Hungary and Poland blocked the approval of the EU’s seven-year budget and the recovery fund totalling €1.81 trillion, as both countries continued to oppose the rule of law mechanism attached to the EU funds.
Banking Union
EBA publishes Report on benchmarking of national insolvency frameworks across the EU : The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Report on the benchmarking of national loan enforcement frameworks across EU Member States, in response to the EU Commission’s call for advice
SSM Enria: The yin and yang of banking market integration – the case of cross-border banks : The Single Market for banking services was first introduced in the early 1990s with a view to spurring greater competition in a sector characterised by extreme market segmentation along product and regional lines.
Speech by Sebastiano Laviola at the EUI FBF Bank Resolution Academy: Bank Resolution in times of uncertainty : While the banking sector was able to survive the immediate most severe hit of the crisis, there are no reasons for complacency....establish a harmonised administrative liquidation regime backed by a common insurance scheme to finance the transfer of assets and liabilities (transfer strategy tools)..
Capital Markets Union
ESMA: new Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities: costs and performance; and data quality : The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, using its new convergence powers, has identified costs and performance for retail investment products and market data quality as the Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities for national competent authorities (NCAs).
BETTER FINANCE Position on the EC Proposal for an EU Recovery Prospectus : The BETTER FINANCE welcomes the proposal put forward by the European Commission to simplify Prospectus disclosure rules for equity issuers in order to stimulate equity financing by companies in need and restore sustainable debt-equity ratios.
AFME and PwC identify trends and challenges for European ‘investment banks of the future’ : The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the journey of investment banks’ technology transformation, but both consistent regulation and further investment are needed to ensure banks in Europe can deploy competitive technology ...
ISDA Statement on IBA and UK FCA Announcements on LIBOR Consultations : ISDA has published the following statement in response to today’s announcements by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), the administrator of LIBOR, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
SSM: Good governance in times of crisis : The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic represents the biggest test for banks since the 2008 financial crisis. Against this backdrop, it is crucial that banks make the right decisions so that they are able to weather the pandemic shock which is pushing the global economy into recession.
SSM: Bolstering fit and proper supervision : Robust governance is one of the cornerstones of the sound and prudent management of supervised credit institutions. This is why banks’ management bodies need to include members that are suitable to fulfil their executive and non-executive responsibilities throughout their entire term.
CDSB and SSE announce intention to collaborate on capacity building initiatives : The joint capacity building activities for stock exchanges and regulators will help strengthen the support activities for climate-related disclosures and green finance.
IA publishes industry stance on tackling climate change : The IA’s Climate Change Position Paper, published in full today, represents the stance of the UK’s £8.5 trillion investment management industry and reflects the importance with which the industry views climate change.
Fin Tech Regulation
José Manuel Campa's introductory remarks at the 2020 EBA Policy Research Workshop "New technologies in the banking sector – impacts, risks a : This year the Workshop focusses on the application of new technologies in the banking sector and the impacts, opportunities and risks. This is timely.
SUERF: Cyber risk in the financial sector : Cyber attacks on financial institutions and financial market infrastructures have become more frequent and sophisticated, prompting ever-larger investments and efforts.
Brexit
CER: Perfect sovereignty under Brexit will come at an economic cost : Sam Lowe says it makes no sense to argue on the one hand that there is a big economic dividend to be had from freedom to negotiate FTAs with other countries, but on the other that there is no economic penalty in not having such an FTA with the UK’s biggest trading partner, the EU.
Federal Trust: Ireland: A shared island – Brexit and a Celtic future ? : An atmosphere of crisis in Ireland north and south is dominating discussions of the future among seasoned observers and commentators there. It is occasioned by the impending decision on Brexit due to be made shortly ahead of the end of the transition period on 31 December.
SSM: Brexit: banks should prepare for year-end and beyond : The end of the Brexit transition period is approaching fast, with negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union still ongoing. With the additional uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 crisis, this raises the stakes for banks and other market participants.
FT: City regulator warns on three Brexit ‘cliff-edge’ risks : UK-EU trade deal may not offset disruption to financial services on January 1, says FCA director
