EBF MORNING BRIEF Monday 10 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 Trouw: Government is unable to process AML data: tax advisors The Dutch government is failing to effectively hunt down money-launderers, Dutch daily Trouw reports today. The paper cites trade sector trade organisations representing tax advisors. “Public prosecutors do not have the resources to investigate all the reports that we are obliged to file,” said Wim Gohres of the Dutch order of tax advisors NOB. In the Netherlands an estimated 16 billion euro in fraudulent and drugs money is laundered every year, the paper says. Banks have been fined heavily for incorrectly reporting suspect transactions and have also complained that the government is not following up on the AML reports that they are filing with authorities. Read more (NL) FT: EU regulator calls for clearer rules on rescuing banks Europe needs clearer rules on how to deal with failing lenders to prevent the “perceived inequality” triggered by cases such as the €3.6bn rescue of Germany’s Nord LB, according to the head of the EU agency created to wind down banks, reports the FT. The Single Resolution Board, headed by Elke König, was formed five years ago in the wake of the eurozone financial crisis to tackle a patchwork of national rules for bank bailouts and give investors more confidence. Regulators wanted to ensure consistent treatment of banks and creditors across the eurozone while allowing banks to be wound down with minimum risks to financial stability. Read more (€) Handelsblatt: "No company should be unchallenged" - Vestager EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has opposed calls for easing merger control in Europe. “Competition benefits us all. Of course, we should keep what has proven itself,” Vestager told Handelsblatt. "No company in Europe should be unchallenged in its market position, otherwise it would be comfortable." The FT says the mood is changing in Europe as Vestager is under pressure to be more aggressive, she has signalled is willing to go beyond fines as she seeks to restore competition. Read more FT(€) Les Echos Bloomberg: The world’s lowest interest rate may soon be raised Denmark and Switzerland have long shared the world record in negative interest rates, at minus 0.75%, says Bloomberg. But that may be about to change. Economists at some of the biggest Nordic banks say Denmark, which pegs the krone to the euro, is likely to raise its key rate in the coming months. The new forecasts were triggered by the exchange rate. Read more |
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MAIN EVENTS today *All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS ECB: The ambitions reshaping the business environment President Lagarde described how the goals of European autonomy and addressing climate risk will shape the business environment in Europe. Speaking after receiving the Grand Prix de l’Économie 2019 from Les Echos, she also reiterated the need to work together. Read more ESMA: Report on MIFIR alignments following introduction of EMIR REFIT The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report suggesting amendments to the trading obligation under MiFIR following the introduction of EMIR Refit. Read more EIOPA: Guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers The European Insurance and Occupation Pension Authority has published its guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers. The Guidelines shall provide guidance to market participants on how the outsourcing provisions set forth in the Directive 2009/138/EC, in the Commission's Delegated Regulation 2015/35. Read more European Commission calendar for this week Find out more about the Commission's engagement and activities for the upcoming week. Read more European Central Bank weekly schedule Find out more about the ECB's engagements and activities for the upcoming week. Read more European Parliament agenda Find out more about the Parliament's engagements and activities for the upcoming week. Read more |
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EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Germany: Cash, card, contactless - How Germans want to pay “Digitalization is also constantly expanding the payment options for our customers. Digital payment is becoming easier and faster - and it is especially preferred by younger people, "says bank association boss Andreas Krautscheid on the occasion of the publication of our current study on the use of cash by Germans. Read more (DE) Norway: Hurray! Consumption debt is falling! The run-in time is over, now we are starting to get decent numbers from the debt information services. And they show that Norwegians' total unsecured debt has fallen by NOK 3 billion over the past two months, despite the fact that it includes Christmas where we normally spend a lot of money. Read more (NO) |
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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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