📰 EBF Morning Brief - Tuesday 17 March

FROM THE MEDIA

Reuters: 'We are at war': France imposes lockdown to combat virus

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ordered stringent restrictions on people’s movement to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and said the army would be drafted in to help move the sick to hospitals, reports Reuters. The group of G7 countries, including France, have pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to stabilise a global economy shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, with its leaders vowing to co-ordinate recovery plans in the face of a possible worldwide recession, says the FT. Read more FT(€)

CNBC: EBF CEO Wim Mijs underlines need for solidarity in Europe

Wim Mijs, Chief Executive Officer of the European Banking Federation, spoke to CNBC on Monday about the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures proposed last week by the European banking sector. Click here to watch the interview.

FT: Investors retreat from risky European bank bonds

Higher-risk European bank debt tumbled in price on Monday, as investors scrambled to offload bonds that are first to be hit if financial institutions run into serious trouble. Read more (€) Reuters

FT: EU rejects UK call for rapid agreement on financial services

Europe’s financial regulation chief has rejected calls from the UK for the City of London’s future market access to be settled by the end of June, warning that Brussels’ decisions will be guided by how far Britain wants to deviate from EU rules, says the FT. Read more (€)

Bloomberg: ECB freed up €100 billion at banks to bolster credit

The European Central Bank freed up about 100 billion euros of bank capital to maintain the flow of credit amid the spread of the coronavirus, says Bloomberg based on statements made by EBA Chair Jose Manuel Campa. The money will be available for lending after the ECB decided to allow banks to operate with lower capital buffer and use subordinated debt to help meet their individual requirements. Meanwhile, EU officials are examining the tools at the disposal of the European Stability Mechanism, a firefighting fund with €410bn of capacity that was set up as a result of the last euro crisis, according to the FT. Read more FT(€)

FT: New accounting rules pose threat to banks amid virus outbreak

The adoption of Europe-led accounting standard IFRS 9 could cripple parts of the banking sector by forcing earlier recognition of loan losses, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to push the world into recession, says the FT “There is a problem with the new accounting rules”, which would “increase provisioning in a dramatic way,” one member of the European Central Bank’s governing council said. Read more (€)

MAIN EVENTS today

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update - Meetings and visits at EBF

Council of the EU: Working Party on Structural Measures

EBA WebEx workshop on climate risk stress tests. EBF's Denisa Avermaete & Daniel Bouzas attending

EBF Legal Committee meeting (video conference)

EBF Blockchain Task Force (video conference)

*All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

Eurogroup: Economic policy challenges - COVID-19

The Eurogroup held an in-depth discussion, together with non-euro area members, and adopted a statement on how to respond to the extraordinary human and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. Read more

Commission presents guidelines in the context of COVID-19 emergency

The Commission presented guidelines to Member States on health-related border management measures in the context of the COVID-19 emergency. The aim is to protect citizens' health, ensure the right treatment of people who do have to travel, and make sure essential goods and services remain available. Commissioners Kyriakides and Johansson have presented the guidelines to EU ministers of Health and of Home Affairs at their first joint video meeting on Monday morning. Read more

ESMA: Notification and disclosure of net short positions

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a decision temporarily requiring the holders of net short positions in shares traded on a European Union (EU) regulated market to notify the relevant national competent authority (NCA) if the position reaches or exceeds 0.1% of the issued share capital after the entry into force of the decision. Read more

EDPB: Processing personal data in the context of COVID-19 outbreak

Governments, public and private organisations throughout Europe are taking measures to contain and mitigate COVID-19. This can involve the processing of different types of personal data. Andrea Jelinek, Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), said: “Data protection rules (such as GDPR) do not hinder measures taken in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. However, I would like to underline that, even in these exceptional times, the data controller must ensure the protection of the personal data of the data subjects. Therefore, a number of considerations should be taken into account to guarantee the lawful processing of personal data.” Read more

EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

The Netherlands: Banks help customers through difficult times

Many people are very worried about the consequences of the coronavirus; for their health but also financially. "Banks are ready to do their utmost to help their customers through this difficult period," says Chris Buijink, chairman of the Dutch Banking Association (NVB). Read more (NL)

UK: Support for SMEs business affected by Coronavirus

SMEs are the foundations of any successful economy and the banking and finance industry has the commitment and capacity to support viable businesses as they manage the impact of Covid-19. Alongside over £20 billion of funding, banks, and finance providers are delivering targeted assistance to firms including repayment holidays, invoice finance extensions and fee-free emergency loans says Chief Executive of UK Finance, Stephen Jones. Read more

Croatia: Banks urge citizens to act responsibly and use digital banking

The Croatian Banking Association calls on citizens to act responsibly for the current situation and enhanced preventive measures against virus corona (COVID-19). In order to minimize the frequency of more people indoors, we advise citizens to make the most of digital banking services (mobile and internet banking) and the ATM network available to them. Read more (HR)

FROM THE EBF

EBF is hiring a Cybersecurity & Innovation Trainee

We are hiring! The European Banking Federation is seeking to recruit a trainee to join the Cybersecurity & Innovation team. Read more

European Money Week - Online Seminar
Building Financial Resilience in Turbulent Times:
Financial Literacy in the 2020s
Tuesday 24 March, 15:30 to 17:30

To mark the 2020 European Money Week in Brussels the European Banking Federation invites you to join us for an online seminar on Tuesday 24 March. Boosting financial literacy has become essential for the well-being of citizens from all ages and social groups, especially at times of economic turmoil. Register HERE

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.