EBF MORNING BRIEF Thursday 14 April 2022 Good morning. Here are the top news stories and events in European banking, financial regulation and EU policy, brought to you by the European Banking Federation. Recommend the EBF newsletters to a colleague. Click here to sign up! |
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FROM THE MEDIA PYMNTS.com: EU pilot regime to trade tokenized securities enjoys regulatory tailwinds The European Parliament, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the industry are backing the efforts of the EU to create a pilot regime for financial market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). This regime will create a testing ground for the use of blockchain technology in the field of financial instruments for three years, PYMNTS.com says. Read more Bloomberg: ESG investors getting trounced in global credit market rout The recent credit market selloff has been particularly hard on sustainable debt. In Europe, green corporate bonds have slumped 6.7% so far this year, a Bloomberg index of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) debt shows. ESG bonds started out more expensive, with demand outstripping supply in buzzy debuts from the European Union, and others. With typically longer maturities, they’ve also been hit harder by the prospect of rising interest rates, contrary to the expectations that they’d hold up in volatile global markets. Read more S&P Global Market Intelligence: Banks face hidden sanctions risk amid complex correspondent banking system Financial institutions with no Russian exposure still face significant indirect sanctions risk through the so-called correspondent banking services they provide to other banks. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, banks with no direct exposure to Russia could end up unwittingly facilitating money transfers for sanctioned entities. Read more |
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MAIN EVENTS Thursday 14 April Friday 15 April For a full-year overview of key financial regulation events: click here |
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FROM THE EBF MEMBERS ABBL: Ukrainian refugees: What proof of identity for client onboarding? With the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in Luxembourg, the question of what identification documents to use for KYC purposes when opening a bank account for these refugees arises. The Luxembourg Banker's Association (ABBL) asked the CSSF if, in the absence of an ID card or passport, the Certificate of Temporary Protection Beneficiary can serve as a valid proof of identity for credit institutions to perform their due diligence. Read more Finance Finland: Digital Identity Developments The Finnish government is about to launch a digital ID card that can be downloaded to a smartphone and could be used both as a means of identification for counter transactions and as a secure electronic means of identification. "The benefits of developing a digital identity must be made widely available to both the public and private sectors," says Peter Jansson, Senior Policy Advisor at Finance Finland in support of this idea. Read more (FI) Finance Latvia: Luminor provides €300 million in funding to companies In 2021, the Latvian business environment showed positive trends with plans towards development and further growth, with Luminor Bank providing around €300 million to companies last year. Luminor was the first bank in the Baltics to start providing cheaper loans to SMEs during the pandemic with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and this funding is available this year, too. Even in these difficult economic times, the bank's support and lending to entrepreneurs continues, Finance Latvia writes. Read more (LV) |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS ESAs see recovery stalling amid existing and new risks The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA, and ESMA - ESAs) issued their first joint risk assessment report for 2022. The report highlights the increasing vulnerabilities across the financial sector as well as the rise of environmental and cyber risks. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its economic consequences have aggravated the outlook for growth and inflation and brought heightened market volatility. Market resilience will critically depend on the ability of markets and financial institutions to deal with the economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to withstand changes in public policy support on the monetary or fiscal side without material disruptions. Read more BIS: CBDCs - A new tool in the financial inclusion toolkit? Can central bank digital currencies help serve the unbanked? A number of central banks think so. A paper by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) explores retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a tool to help support financial inclusion. The paper aims to facilitate peer learning on key issues around CBDCs and financial inclusion policies faced around the world. Read more ECB: Opinion on a proposal for a directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union repealing Directive The European Central Bank (ECB) published an Opinion on a proposal for a directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union repealing the Directive. The ECB strongly supports the objectives of the proposed directive to increase the level of cyber resilience across all relevant sectors, reduce inconsistencies across the internal market and improve the level of situational awareness and the collective capability to prepare and respond by ensuring efficient cooperation in the Union. Read more |
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FROM THE EBF 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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ABOUT THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The federation 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. Website: www.ebf.eu |
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This newsletter is published by the EBF Mediacentre. If you do not want to receive the EBF Morning Brief click here. For questions or suggestions contact v.barbieri@ebf.eu European Banking Federation Avenue des Arts 56, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium |
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