📰 EBF Morning Brief - Monday 20 September: Some in ECB think inflation forecasts too pessimistic

FROM THE MEDIA

Reuters: Some in ECB think inflation forecasts too pessimistic - Makhlouf

Some European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers believe that the bank's inflation forecasts, which were raised only last week, are still too pessimistic, Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf said. According to Reuters, Makhlouf also stressed that if policymakers see evidence that inflation is going to go above its target, they will respond. Read more

EURACTIV: Banking and fintech: not a zero sum game

By working together with policymakers, banks and fintech businesses can speed up the EU’s economic recovery, writes Ellen Moeller in an opinion piece on EURACTIV. A spirit of collaboration is exactly what is needed in the months and years ahead, as the EU shifts its focus from fighting the pandemic to economic recovery. From improving access to capital to making it easier to sell across borders, the success of the economy depends on the ability of financial services to meet the needs of businesses, which are increasingly global and operate mainly online. Read more

International Banker: Central Banks’ liquidity and its impact on banks and global economies

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all the economies, big or small, across the globe. Central banks everywhere have been proactively dealing with the situation and have successfully pushed a large amount of liquidity to the banks through various means. However, due to widespread uncertainty caused by the pandemic, banks are reluctant to lend, and consumers are hesitant to avail credit. This article published by the International Banker highlights the adverse impact that surplus liquidity may have on the banks and economies if adequate demand is not created. Read more

FT: Europe Express: Basel III

The Financial Times (FT) asked Commissioner Mairead McGuinness about the letter that a group of EU central bankers has sent her to oppose the French push to soften the implementation of Basel III. She said it was “fundamental” that Brussels delivers on its promises to its international partners. The EU rules, which are expected next month, will not provide for a “sudden or sharp” increase in capital levels, McGuinness said, as she pledged to achieve a “balanced outcome” that takes account of EU-level specificities. Read more

MAIN EVENTS

European Securities and Markets Authority hearing on EMIR reporting guidelines

Publication of European Court of Auditors report on the EU’s action to promote and regulate sustainable finance

CEPS ‘Tackling dirty money: A closer look at AML supervision in the EU’ webinar

EIB ‘Building the green consensus’ webinar

CEPOL ‘Malware investigation’ workshop

CEPOL ‘Passenger Name Record (PNR): data analysis’ workshop

CEPOL ‘Money laundering’ course

For a full-year overview of key financial regulation events: click here

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

NVB: Banks and supervisors need each other

This week the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) held its annual General Members' Meeting. The guest speaker was Klaas Knot, president of De Nederlandsche Bank. “He spoke, among other things, about the important role that banks can play in the economic recovery. And about the challenge of how banks can continue to make healthy profits despite the prolonged low-interest rates, partly in order to be able to fulfill their social role well. These are very relevant themes for our association in the coming period", Medy van der Laan, Chairman of the NVB said. Read more (NL)

Finance Finland: International evaluation: Finnish pension system is simple and efficient

The Finnish pension system efficiently alleviates poverty and provides a reasonable income for pensioners, Finance Finland reports. The strengths of the system are its principle of a one-stop-shop, simple structure, portability of pension entitlements, and pension adequacy. According to the report by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the projected real value of pensions and thus material living conditions increase in the future. Read more

BdB: Award ceremony in the project "Youth and Economy"

The winners of “Youth and Economy”, the joint student competition organized by the Association of German Banks (BdB) and the FAZ on economic education, were personally honored together with their teachers at a festive event. Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union in the European Commission, congratulated with a video message in which she highlighted the importance of financial education for young people. Read more (DE)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ECB: Striking the right balance

"I fully understand people’s concerns about low interest rates", European Central Bank (ECB) Vice-President Luis de Guindos tells Het Financieele Dagblad. "But you need to look at all the effects our policies have, including their impact on economic growth and jobs. You need to find the right balance", he concluded. Read more

European Commission: EP question on AML

EU Commissioner McGuiness has answered a question by Hélène Laporte (ID) on the proposed European anti-money laundering (AML) agency. "The Regulation establishing the new Authority will clearly define its scope of tasks and powers once adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, therefore there will be no conflicts of competences. The Authority will be empowered to act and to use the powers granted to it exclusively in the areas identified in the proposed regulation", she wrote. Read more

ESMA: Performance and Costs of EU Retail Investment Products

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Annual Statistical Report 2021 provides an overview of EU retail investment products from 2010 to 2019. With around EUR 11tn assets, Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) remained the largest investment fund sector in the EU, of which more than EUR 4.5tn held by retail investors. Alternative investment funds (AIFs) followed with EUR 6.5tn, of which around EUR 1tn were held by retail investors (Retail AIFs). Read more

FROM THE EBF

UK clearing house equivalence: Trade associations joint letter

Nine industry associations (AFME, AIMA, EAPB, EBF, EFAMA, FIA, ICI Global, ISDA, SIFMA AMG) have written to European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, respectfully requesting that the European Commission (EC) extend the EC equivalence decision for UK CCPs. This equivalence decision is set to expire on 30 June 2022, but the associations request the EC to provide clarity as soon as possible to prevent negative financial, commercial, operational and level playing field effects on EU counterparties and clearing members and to enable continued access to global pools of liquidity after 30 June 2022. Read more

Draft Report of the Platform on Sustainable Finance on a Social Taxonomy: EBF response

The European Banking Federation (EBF) asks that the Social Taxonomy remain a voluntary tool for both financial and non-financial undertakings to guide their positive societal impact. Within this context, a balanced ambitious, and robust framework is needed, and it must clearly define what can be considered socially sustainable. It should focus on the value-added through the additionality of social impact in a company’s main activities and not become an all-encompassing ESG taxonomy with a defined geographical focus. Read more

Draft Report on Taxonomy Extension Options linked to Environmental Objectives: EBF response

The European Banking Federation (EBF) supports the extension of the EU Taxonomy ‘beyond green’ to include significantly harmful activities, therefore creating a ‘permanent significantly harmful’ red category. The development of a real transition framework is critical as clear guidance on the consistent trajectories of activities is needed. Read more

Proposal for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: EBF position

Banks particularly welcome the extended scope of the proposed Directive, which would cover all large undertakings, as well as listed small and medium-sized enterprises. This should, however, be accompanied by a close assessment regarding the feasibility of the requirements being legislated. The European Banking Federation (EBF) proposes to further assess whether companies in high-risk sectors (e.g. mining, chemicals, etc) should be subject to mandatory reporting requirements regardless of size and to whether they are listed or unlisted. Read more

BCBS consultation on Prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures: EBF response

The European Banking Federation has responded to the consultation of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures. Read more

EBF Vacancies: Work with us!

Visit our Vacancies page to learn more about the opening positions at the EBF. Read more

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