EBF MORNING BRIEF Friday 14 February 2020 Good morning, these are the top news stories and events in European banking, financial regulation and EU policy, brought to you by the mediacentre of the European Banking Federation in Brussels. Recommend the EBF newsletters to a colleague. Click here to sign up! |
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FROM THE MEDIA Euractiv: Parliament urges ECB to put climate at heart of strategy review EU lawmakers have called on the European Central Bank to put climate change at the centre of the bankās review of its monetary policy strategy this year, endorsing the bankās chief vision for āgradually eliminatingā carbon assets, says Euractiv. Read more FT: Eurozone economy set for slowest growth in 7 years The eurozoneās economy is growing at the slowest rate since the blocās debt crisis seven years ago, says the FT based on analysis of the European Commission's Winter Economic Outlook. Read more (ā¬) Euractiv CNBC: UK Finance Minister Sajid Javid resigns in surprise move CNBC reports that Sajid Javid has resigned as the head of the U.K.ās finance ministry, surprising financial markets and political pundits in the country. He has served as finance minister (known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the U.K.) since July, when Boris Johnson was first appointed prime minister. Read more European banks in the news: Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, Barclays Barclays reported better-than-expected 2019 results, but the figures were overshadowed by news its chief executive is being investigated over links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, several media reported. The FT reports that French lender CrĆ©dit Agricoleās profits surged in the fourth quarter after a favourable outcome to a tax dispute followed by positive reporting across its businesses. German bank Commerzbank it was looking to make further cuts to costs after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter, reports City AM. Barclays CreditAgricole (ā¬) Commerzbank |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS Winter 2020 Economic Forecast: Offsetting forces confirm subdued growth The Winter 2020 Economic Forecast published on Thursday projects that the European economy is set to continue on a path of steady, moderate growth. The euro area has now enjoyed its longest period of sustained growth since the euro was introduced in 1999. Read more ECB: Confidentiality and auditability in distributed ledgers Itās important to consider privacy when sharing transaction information using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The latest report from our joint research project with the Bank of Japan explores privacy enhancing technologies and techniques which can improve confidentiality and auditability. Read more ESMA: Steven Maijoor on Sustainable Finance at the EU Financial Forum Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has delivered a keynote address on sustainable finance issues at the European Financial Forum in Dublin on Wednesday. In his speech, Mr Maijoor focused on, amongst other issues, regulatory authorities role in tackling climate change, the need for reliable ESG standards and their supervision and the need for measures across the whole of the investment chain saying: "The financial sector plays a pivotal role as a key transmission channel of the much-needed transformation towards a more sustainable economic system. As securities regulators this is a matter of high priority;". Read more European Parliament: EU budget is a tool for EUās future MEPs underlined that Parliament will only give its consent to a budget that meets the European Unionās ambitions, in a debate on EU funding for 2021-2027. Most MEPs insisted that sufficient funding is key to achieve common ambitions such as fighting climate change, the digital and ecological transformation, dealing with the social consequences of the latter, and continuing to support regions and cities, farmers, young people, researchers or entrepreneurs. Implementing the Green Deal with a reduced budget, for example, would mean cutting successful EU programmes elsewhere, MEPs highlighted. Read more |
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EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Germany: Monetary policy put to the test It was necessary and overdue that the European Central Bank started reviewing its monetary policy strategy in January. So far there has only been one such review, namely in 2003. Since then there have been profound changes - not only in the financial markets: the global economy has grown even closer together, the financial crisis has triggered many upheavals, and demographic development and digitization are also driving the structural change with power. Read more (DE) Italy: Entering the era of instant payments It is the first European bank to enable Payment Service Providers for instantaneous transfers in indirect mode, eliminating those economic, technological and organizational barriers that have so far slowed down the adhesion to the new payment instrument. Gino Gai, Director of BU Banking Payments DEPObank talks about it. Read more (IT) Norway: Rising prices in Norwegian real estate Mountain cabin prices in general have risen a few per cent in the past year, but some specially situated cabins have risen 11 per cent. Fears of snowy winters and a weak Norwegian krone are driving up house prices, while a flat housing market may hold back. On the way into the winter break, Ā«FinanslunsjĀ» has invited Nejra Macic, chief economist at the Forecast Center and Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway. Read more (NO) |
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MAIN EVENTS today EBF Cybersecurity Working Group meeting *All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise |
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BANKING ESSENTIALS webinar Tuesday 18 February, 15:30 CET Navigating AML Compliance: Opportunities & Challenges by EBF and S&P Global Market Intelligence |
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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 from 45 countries. 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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This newsletter is published by the EBF Mediacentre. For questions or suggestions contact mediacentre@ebf.eu Recommend the EBF newsletters to a colleague. Click here to sign up! |
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