Bloomberg: Europe Pushes Ahead on Long-Awaited Capital Markets Union
25 November 2021
Commission to propose rules on market data, investor access; Project to build cross-EU system was first announced in 2015
The
European Union will move forward Thursday on trying to build a
cross-continental financial system with four new legislative proposals,
six years after it was first announced and a year after the latest
relaunch.
The EU’s executive arm hopes a “capital markets union”
will break down barriers between 27 national financial markets and
rulebooks to help companies raise money within the bloc.
After years of slow progress, finance firms have urged the EU
to deregulate more quickly and boost Covid-battered businesses while
competing with rival markets such as London -- which was the EU’s
largest financial hub until Brexit took effect this year.
According to draft documents seen by Bloomberg News, Thursday’s proposals will include:
- changes
to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation that would help
create data feeds from across several trading venues, known as a
consolidated tape. The long-awaited project is intended to give a better view of market conditions throughout the bloc
- a review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive that aims to add some investor protection while leaving cross-border delegation largely in place
- reforms
to allow the public to view financial details of European companies and
investment products through a single access point
- changes to
European long-term investment funds to make it easier for firms to set
up and market these products, particularly for retail investors, after
initial adoption rates were sluggish.
The initiatives need to be agreed and adopted by the member states and the European Parliament. The proposals build on plans trailed last year in the bloc’s package of reforms to boost the economy after the pandemic....
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