| EBF MORNING BRIEF Tuesday 18 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 European Banking Federation.
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FROM THE MEDIA
European banks in the news: HSBC, Intesa SanPaolo, Deutsche Bank
London-based bank HSBC is set to slash about 35,000 of its workforce, and is taking €6.7 billion of charges in its most dramatic overhaul under Chairman Mark Tucker, reports Bloomberg. Intesa Sanpaolo on Monday kicked off a long-awaited consolidation wave among Italian banks with a shock move, launching a surprise takeover bid on smaller rival UBI Banca, according to various media. The Financial Times says that Deutsche Bank is cutting part of its freelance workforce in compliance and AML functions in its London office, following a disagreement on the new hiring policu introduced by the bank. HSBC Intesa SanPaolo Deutsche Bank(€)
FT: Mifid II review aims to boost euro trading in commodity derivatives
The European Union is considering relaxing its rules on the trading of commodity derivatives, in order to reduce its dependence on oil benchmarks priced in US dollars while boosting euro-area trading of alternatives like natural gas, report various media. The announcement is part of a series of changes the European Commission is planning to make to its flagship Mifid II legislation, which was introduced in early 2018 in an effort to bring greater transparency and competition to the region’s financial markets. Read more (€) Reuters GlobalCapital FinancialNews
Law360: Half of EU banks not meeting capital rules - EBA
More than half of Europe's major banks are falling short of strict capital requirements designed to make sure make sure taxpayers are not on the hook if they fail, Europe’s banking watchdog said Monday, according to Law360. The European Banking Authority found that 117 of out 222 of the banks and lenders that are subject to the rules governing the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities, known as MREL, are reporting a shortfall. Read more (€) Bloomberg: U.K. opposes EU's post-Brexit approach The U.K. launched a stinging attack on the European Union’s conditions for a post-Brexit trade deal, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s envoy warning the bloc’s demand that Britain be bound by its rules after its departure risked undermining democracy, says Bloomberg. Read more FT(€)
Finextra: Lithuania lay claims to second largest fintech hub in Europe
Finextra reports on a research by Invest Lithuania, analysing the growth of the fintech sector in the Baltic country. According to the figures, Lithuania's fintech industry claims to have taken the second spot in the continent, bearing the fruits of progressive policy and a vast pool of tech talent. Read more EmergingEurope |
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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 facts about the ECB’s monetary policy
Unfounded criticism of the ECB jeopardises trust in our single monetary policy and undermines European cohesion, says Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel in a speech at the Juristische Studiengesellschaft in Karlsruhe. She looks at some dominant narratives in Germany and discusses them in light of the facts. Read more
European Commission: Consultation on reforms to the MiFID and MiFIR
The Commission has opened a consultation on possible reforms to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID and MiFIR). They aim is to improve investor protection and ensure transparent, efficient and competitive trading in financial instruments, by focusing in particular on (i) potential changes to investor protection rules (ii) potential actions to foster research coverage for SMEs and (iii) the possible introduction of a new transparency tool. The Consultation is open until the 20th of April 2020. Read more
EBA: MREL quantitative report
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its first quantitative Report on minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) under a new methodology. The report shows that authorities have made strong progress in agreeing resolution strategies and setting related MREL requirements but it also notes that banks need to issue MREL eligible debt to close their shortfall. Read more |
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EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Germany: Pay digitally and contactlessly
The latest study conducted by the Association of the German Banks on the German payment behavior shows that even if Germans traditionally like to pay with cash, card payments are becoming increasingly popular, especially among younger customers. 53 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds, but only 17 percent of over-60-year-olds say they prefer to pay by card at the cash register. Read more (DE)
Denmark: Greater activity in passive funds
Passive equity funds are increasingly on the radar of Danish retail investors. The market share of the passive equity funds relative to comparable active funds has thus increased from approx. 6.5 per cent. in 2016 to almost 17 per cent. at the end of 2019. During 2019, market share grew by more than 2 percentage points. Especially in the last months of the year, this was strong, with half of the increase in the passive funds' market share taking place in the last quarter of the year. Read more (DK)
UK: Collaboration – the key response to cyber-security threats
Last month the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog calling for greater levels of collaboration, and intelligence sharing across borders to be as fast and globally integrated as the criminals and groups carrying out the attacks. Operation Taiex, the global operation to arrest the gang leader behind the Carbanak and Cobalt malware attacks on over 100 financial institutions across the globe, serves as a great example of law enforcement agencies from seven jurisdictions and numerous private sector firms coming together to stop a group operating in at least 15 countries. Read more |
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Breakfast event
Wednesday 19 February, 8:00am to 9:30am
European Parliament Money laundering and financial crime
Better addressing the threats to European security 
The new European Commission, European Parliament and Council have put combating money laundering high on their agendas. While the Commission reports released in July give some indicative hints, it remains to be seen which reforms the Commission will finally propose. Therefore we would like to present and discuss the respective proposals of: -
Sebastian Fiedler, Chair of the Federation of German Police Officers (BDK), -
Wim Mijs, Chief Executive Officer, European Banking Federation (EBF) -
Sven Giegold, Economic and Financial Spokesperson of Greens/EFA
Registration: If you want to participate in the breakfast event at the European Parliament in Brussels, please register by 17 February indicating your name, organisation and contact details at sven.giegold@ep.europa.eu |
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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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