EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 30 November 2020 An overview of the main banking stories this week and a look ahead to key events in European banking and financial regulation for the upcoming week, brought to you by the European Banking Federation.
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Eurogroup Finance Ministers to address Banking Union and CMU |
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Tuesday 1 December 2020 will see a virtual meeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers. EU leaders will take stock of the ongoing work on strengthening the Banking Union on the basis of the Presidency’s progress report. During the discussion, the Presidency will update ministers on the progress achieved on the Capital Markets Recovery Package and the Benchmark Regulation recently agreed by the Council and the work on the legislative proposals on cyber resilience and crypto-assets. Furthermore, the Presidency and the Commission will brief ministers on the G20 finance ministers' and central bank governors' meeting of 13 November 20, which focused on debt relief. The Ecofin will continue to follow the economic developments in the eurozone and also maintain focus on structural policies to mitigate the economic fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak. Read more |
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Agenda for next week Monday 30 November: -
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EBF Financing Growth Steering Committee virtual meeting
Tuesday 1 December: Thursday 3 December: -
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EBF Extraordinary Executive Committee virtual meeting -
EBF Banking Supervision Committee virtual meeting -
EBF Banking and Taxonomy Working Group virtual meeting -
EBF Tax Reporting Working Group virtual meeting
Friday 4 December: For more events check the EBF planning calendar HERE
*All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise |
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FROM THE MEDIA this week
WSJ: Spanish lenders BBVA and Sabadell abandon merger talks
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s second-largest lender by assets, and smaller peer Banco de Sabadell SA ended their merger talks because of disagreements over pricing, underlining that consolidation in Europe’s fragmented banking system remains complicated, the Wall Stress Journal (WSJ) reports. The banks disclosed the talks less than two weeks ago. BBVA said on Nov. 16 that it was conducting due diligence on Sabadell after agreeing to sell its operations in the U.S. to Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. for $11.6 billion. Read more
CNBC: ECB warns bank profits will ‘remain weak’ throughout next year
European banks will not see profits return to pre-pandemic levels before 2022, the region’s central bank warned Wednesday in its latest financial stability review. In an interview with CNBC, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said that “in order to improve the valuation, we have to increase the profitability of European banks.”. Lenders in the eurozone have struggled to make sizeable profits over the last decade following the 2008 global financial crisis, with stronger regulatory scrutiny and low-interest rates, CNBC writes. The recent coronavirus-induced crisis has worsened bottom lines further and that will continue to be felt over the coming months, according to the European Central Bank. Read more Video (€)
FT: ECB signals lifting of ban on bank dividends next year
Eurozone banks will be allowed to pay dividends again from next year if they convince supervisors that their balance sheets are strong enough to survive the economic and financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a senior European Central Bank executive has said, the Financial Times reports. Read more (€) WSJ: Yellen will confront a cooling economic recovery Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be Treasury secretary, will confront an economic recovery that appears to be losing momentum and uncertain prospects for additional stimulus from Congress, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Yellen would play a key role pushing for more aid for an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns, especially if Congress is unable to reach an agreement on a relief package before Mr. Biden takes office on Jan. 20. Read more
Bloomberg: Italy's bank troubles are back to haunt it
The public outcry against bank bailouts during the financial crisis prompted European governments to constrain the use of public money to help lenders in crisis. New trouble at the region’s oldest bank will test whether these rules can outlast the pandemic, Bloomber reports. The Italian government faces an impossible decision over Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA. Italy nationalized the bank in 2017 but had to commit to returning it to the market promptly to abide by European Union state-aid rules. Read more |
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FROM THE MEMBERS this week
Bankenverband: Stay safe when shopping during Black Friday
Black Friday casts its shadows ahead, with special offers and discounts everywhere. The Association of German Banks (Bankenverband), shares six tips to be safe when buying online. Read more (DE)
HUB: Knowledge to Financial Recovery
As part of its campaign "Knowledge to Financial Recovery", the Croatian Banking Association (HUB) gives five tips for easier recovery from over-indebtedness. Read more (HR)
AEB: Sandbox and innovation Lorena Mullor, adviser of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) explains how new technologies can be beneficial to society, while compatible with the safety and reliability of regulated financial activity. Learn more (ES)
Febelfin: 6 tips to recognize fraud
Febelfin gives you 6 easy tips to recognize when fraudsters impersonate one of your family members or friends via email, text or app messages. Or vice versa: when fraudsters write to your loved ones in your name and ask for urgent financial help. Read more (NL)
FFI: Responsible investing has become mainstream
Finance Finland's (FFI) member companies talk about responsibility in the financial sector. FIM/S-Bank discussed how responsible investing has become mainstream. Companies with adverse climate impact are faced with ever-tightening regulation, and their appeal to investors will likely plummet. Companies with climate-friendly products and services may see the opposite scenario, because regulation will favour them, and the money will follow. Read more |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS this week
ECB: Financial stability after the coronavirus shock
The pandemic continues to dominate the outlook for financial stability. Near-term risks have been contained by massive policy support, however, vulnerabilities have increased and authorities face difficult decisions on the extension of policy schemes and increased debt burdens. Read more EP endorsed collective redress directive deal European Parliament endorsed the collective redress directive deal of June in a second reading. It shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its imminent publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member states will have 24 months from the entry into force of the directive to transpose it into national law, as well as an additional 6 months to start applying these provisions. Read more EBA: Thematic note on moratoria and public guarantees EBA published a first assessment of the use of Covid-19 moratoria and public guarantees across the EU banking sector. It finds that Covid-19 related moratoria and public guarantees provided breathing space to borrowers and allowed banks to provide new lending to many companies impacted by the crisis. Read more
FSB: The implications of climate change for financial stability
Building on the FSB Stocktake of financial authorities’ experience in including physical and transition climate risks as part of their financial stability monitoring, the FSB report assesses the channels through which physical and transition risks could impact the financial system and how they might interact. Particular focus is on the potential amplification mechanisms and cross-border effects, and on the channels that could materialise in the short-to-medium term. Read more
BIS: Basel amended capital requirements for NPL securitisations
The Basel Committee has amended capital requirements for non-performing loan securitisations. It closes a gap in the Basel framework by setting out prudent and risk-sensitive capital requirements for non-performing loan securitisations. Read more |
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FROM THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION this week
Google Cloud and EBF CBF improve risk management in the cloud
As part of the EBFCloud series, the EBF Cloud Banking Forum (CBF) and Google reflect on Technical Paper about Outsourcing Register (cloud-specific template) and conclude that open dialogue is key to digital transformation. Read more Cloud Banking at EBF |
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FT Global Banking Summit Rebuilding, Redefining and Repositioning for Growth Digital Conference, 1- 3 December, 2020
2020 is proving to be a year of unprecedented uncertainty in the banking world. All projections and strategies have been thrown into chaos by the global pandemic, and it will be sometime before the full impact can be estimated. The Financial Times’ landmark Global Banking Summit, spanning multiple time zones, provides an unrivalled platform for dialogue between banking and finance leaders, incumbents and challengers, regulatory organisations and technology partners to evaluate the industry’s response to the crisis and to develop key plans and priorities for 2021 and beyond. Speakers will include notable figures from the finance world, with keynote and panel contributions from senior banking executives, national and international regulators, and eminent thought leaders. Read more |
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The European Banking Federation and fTLD Registry Services (fTLD) are partnering to educate the European banking sector about the cybersecurity role .BANK plays in protecting banks against Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, phishing and spoofing attacks that lead to breaches, identity theft and financial fraud. fTLD administers the .BANK domain and the EBF has served on its Advisory Council since 2013. To learn more about the security benefits of .BANK, visit https://www.register.bank/ebf/ or contact fTLD at EBF@fTLD.com. |
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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, with active members in 32 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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This newsletter is published by the EBF Mediacentre.
For questions or suggestions contact mediacentre@ebf.eu
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