EBF MORNING BRIEF Wednesday 3 February 2021 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 Politico: Europeâs economy fell again at year-end The EU economy turned down again in the fourth quarter, declining 0.5 percent in an official estimate that keeps up pressure for government spending, writes Politico. For the euro countries, the quarterly drop was 0.7 percent compared to gross domestic product over the previous three-month period, according to Eurostat's flash estimate. Read more Bloomberg: Covid shows Europe's fiscal rules are too outdated One upshot of Covid-19 has been closer coordination between monetary and fiscal powers. This has led to a revolution in macroeconomic policy â one that countries should continue building upon. Just as central banks have been rethinking their frameworks, there is a strong case for governments to similarly reconsider their approach to fiscal policy, writes Elga Bartsch, head of macro research at the BlackRock Investment Institute. Read more (âŹ) ComputerWeekly: Nordic countries dominate online banking take-up Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind, ComputerWeekly reports. Read more (âŹ) |
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MAIN EVENTS today Governing Council of the ECB: non-monetary policy meeting European Investment Bank: Meeting of the Board of Directors *All events take place virtually unless stated otherwise |
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FROM THE EBF MEMBERS FFI: National strategy to promote financial literacy makes headway Finance Finland (FFI) reports that the Bank of Finland has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice for Finland's first national financial literacy strategy. The objective of the strategy is for Finns to have the worldâs best financial literacy by 2030. The Finnish financial sector has had its sights set on a national strategy for several years and cheers this progress. Read more (FI) FBF: French consumers trust their banks according to new IFOP survey The French Banking Federation (FBF) publishes the second edition of its study "Les Français, leur banque, leurs attentes"1, conducted with the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP). Results show that French consumers are generally satisfied with the action of banks during the health crisis, particularly welcoming their availability and their role in supporting and relaunching the economy. Read more (FR) Finance Norway: The future of Norwegian youth after the pandemic In its new episode of "Finance lunch with FĂ„ne and Staavi", Finance Norway invites Kjersti Haugland of DNB bank and Ăystein DĂžrum of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) to discuss the future financial situation for Norway, the business community and consumers. Read more (NO) |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS ECB: Euro area countries fiscal policy responses to the Covid-19 crisis ECB published an article titled Euro area countries fiscal policy responses to the Covid-19 crisis. Strong fiscal responses early in the pandemic were crucial in limiting economic damage in the euro area, ECBâs researchers write. The recovery needs support from targeted fiscal measures that consider the pandemicâs path and effectiveness of policy instruments. Read more EBA: Clarity on the implementation of selected Covid-19 policies EBA published additional clarifications on the application of the prudential framework in response to issues raised as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more BIS: Fintech regulation: how to achieve a level playing field BIS published an occasional paper titled Fintech regulation: how to achieve a level playing field. The study explains how regulation should evolve to encourage fair competition between traditional banks and new fintech and big tech. Some advocate moving from an entity-based to an activity-based regulatory approach under the principle "same activity, same regulation", writes Fernando Restoy, Chairman of Financial Stability Institute. Read more |
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FROM THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION Commissionâs consultation on the Data Governance Act: EBF Response EBF fully supports the opportunity to respond to the European Commissionâs consultation on its published Data Governance Act and recognizes that its different pillars will contribute to establishing a Single Market for Data in the EU. Read more EBF-UNEP FI report outlines path for application of EU Taxonomy EBF, together with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), this week launched a report that for the first time assesses how the EU Taxonomy can be applied to core banking products. The report is based on case studies analysing transactions and existing client relationships across a large spectrum of sectors, economic activities and geographical locations. The launch include two live webinars. Recordings as well as the report are available here. Reuters Euractiv |
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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. 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! European Banking Federation Avenue des Arts 56, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium |
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