| EBF MORNING BRIEF Friday 13 March 2020 Good morning. These are the top news stories and events in European banking, financial regulation and EU policy, brought to you by the European Banking Federation.
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FROM THE MEDIA
Bloomberg: Banks catch a break with ECB easing post-crisis demands
The European Central Bank freed banks to put some of their financial cushions to work, a key plank in its effort to counter the economic damage from the coronavirus, report various media. Lenders will be permitted temporarily to operate with less capital than the watchdog usually demands and also use types of subordinated debt to help meet their requirements, the ECB announced on Thursday, enacting measures the banks had sought. The central bank’s other steps to pump more money into the economy included more asset purchases and some loans at negative interest rates. Read more Politico Euractiv NYT(€) RTE FT(€)
Politico: How Europe is responding to the coronavirus pandemic
From nationwide lockdowns to school shutdowns, European authorities are creating a patchwork of measures to stop or slow down the coronavirus. An analysis by Politico shows the latest measures the 26 EU countries and the U.K. have taken so far in response to the pandemic. Read more
S&P GMI: This is what banks, exchanges are doing to keep trading
From canceling bell ringing to remote-work schemes, stock exchanges and banks around Europe are taking various measures to ensure trading activities can continue during the new coronavirus crisis, reports S&P Global Market Intelligence. The outbreak has prompted banks to start testing work-from-home and remote-work schemes for their traders, although it is harder for traders to work from remote locations due to security and technical issues. Read more
FT: Banks scramble as companies rush to tap back-up credit lines
According to the FT, global banks have convened emergency meetings to address a rush of companies drawing on back-up credit lines. Also new accounting rules that are exacerbating loan losses and disruption in their own offices as lenders grapple with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. As corporate bond markets grind to a halt, banks’ corporate customers are tapping credit lines — known as revolving credit facilities — to ensure they have enough cash on hand to survive a prolonged downturn in financial markets. Read more (€) |
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MAIN EVENTS today
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EIOPA deadline on the consultation on guidelines on Information and Communication Technology security and governance -
EBA roundtable on the feasibility study on Integrated Reporting (video conference). EBF's Francisco Saravia attending, Paris -
EBF Single Resolution Mechanism Expert Group meeting (video conference)
For more events check the EBF planning calendar HERE
*All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS
ECB announces monetary and supervisory policy measures The European Central Bank has announced a number of measures to ensure that its directly supervised banks can continue to fulfil their role in funding the real economy as the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak become apparent. First, the ECB announced a series of additional longer-term refinancing operations to safeguard liquidity and money market conditions. Secondly, the ECB will provide temporary capital and operational relief under its supervisory mandate. Thirdly, the ECB announced more favourable operations to support bank lending to those affected most by the spread of the coronavirus, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises by the easing of conditions for targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III). Press release I Press release II Press release III
ECB staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area
The ECB has published its macroeconomic projections for the euro area. Euro area real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2019 came in at 0.1% weaker than had been expected in the December 2019 projections. HICP inflation is expected to decrease slightly from 1.2% in 2019 to 1.1% in 2020, reflecting dampening effects from energy prices before expected to pick up gradually thereafter to 1.6% by 2022. Read more OECD: G20 GDP Growth - Fourth quarter of 2019 The OECD has published the new GDP data of the G20 countries. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the G20 GDP growth slowed to 0.6%. This was prior to the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus. Read more |
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EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Germany: Peters calls for further measures to stabilise the economy
In the face of the widening coronavirus crisis,Tthe Association of German Banks CEO Hans-Walter Peters has argued for concrete measures to stabilise the economy. “The private banks want to stand by their customers in the corona crisis and remain a reliable partner,” said Peters. Given the worsening crisis caused by the virus, it was to be expected that companies would draw on credit facilities to the fullest extent and that payment arrears would increase significantly. Read more (DE)
Denmark: We all need to go a little further
The government has launched four new initiatives, which will hold hands under Danish companies and workplaces. One initiative is the release of the countercyclical capital buffer. We welcome that. This will strengthen the ability of Danish banks and mortgage banks to help Danish companies experiencing temporary liquidity problems as a result of the corona epidemic. Read more (DK)
Czechia: CBA declaration of adoption of an emergency measure
The Presidium, as the supreme body of the Czech Banking Association, representing the vast majority of banks on the Czech market, has held on Thursday an extraordinary meeting to discuss measures that will help mitigate the economic impact of the ongoing epidemic on clients, primarily ordinary citizens and retail clients. entrepreneurs and sole traders. Read more (CE) |
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FROM THE EBF
EBF statement in response to ECB and EBA decisions
The European Banking Federation issued a statement last Thursday following the announcements by the European Central Bank and the European Banking Authority. The Chief Executive Officer of the European Banking Federation Wim Mijs said: The ECB and EBA have swiftly delivered comprehensive packages under very challenging circumstances. In the interests of businesses and households in Europe financial stability needs to be maintained. That is particularly important for a bank-financed economy like the one we have in Europe. The ECB package clearly shows it wants to avoid adverse liquidity effects so that banks can continue providing financing to businesses even under these increasingly challenging economic conditions. Read more EBF letter calls for European measures to face COVID-19 outbreak The European Banking Federation has sent a letter to the leadership of European institutions including the European Commission, European Central Bank and the European Banking Authority. The coronavirus infection is a global emergency. It has quickly evolved from being a public health issue to being a source of serious challenge to the economy. Enterprises, and especially SMEs, are already experiencing sharp and severe demand and supply side shocks. These shocks can be expected to increase, while at the same time our customers face ongoing payment obligations to providers, employees, tax authorities and banks. Read more |
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The European Banking Federation and fTLD Registry Services (fTLD) are partnering to educate the European banking sector about the cybersecurity role .BANK plays in protecting banks against Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, phishing and spoofing attacks that lead to breaches, identity theft and financial fraud. fTLD administers the .BANK domain and the EBF has served on its Advisory Council since 2013. To learn more about the security benefits of .BANK, visit https://www.register.bank/ebf/ or contact fTLD at EBF@fTLD.com. |
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ABOUT THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere. |
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