EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 5 October 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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Sibos 2020: Bringing the financial community together online |
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The Sibos conference becomes digital this year. Due to the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic, SWIFT cancelled the physical meet-up for its flagship annual event and provided its audience with a digital alternative. The event will take place from Monday 5 October to Thursday 8 October. The main theme will be focused on driving the evolution of smart finance – with sub-streams, including delivering digital value, responsible innovation, banking for humanity, payments, securities services technology and the future of finance in the post-Covid-19 era. The conference brings finance professionals together from around the world. In 2019, SWIFT set a record for attendance with 11,500 delegates in attendance. Read more |
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Eurogroup Finance Ministers to discuss ECB appointments |
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Monday 5 October will see a virtual meeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers. The discussion is expected to focus in particular on the selection process of a new ECB Executive Board member to replace Yves Mersch which term will end on 14 December 2020. The European Council will appoint a new member after having consulted the Parliament and the ECB. At the Eurogroup meeting of 11 September, President Donohoe asked euro area members to put forward candidates for Mersch's replacement. Frank Elderson, Executive Director of Supervision of the Netherlands Bank and Boštjan Jazbec, SRB Director of Resolution Planning and Decisions emerged as contenders. The Eurogroup 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. Agenda |
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Agenda for next week
Monday 5 October:
European Parliament plenary session. Agenda Tuesday 6 October: CNUE Interprofessional Workshop on AML and CFT. EBF Roger Kaiser speaking EBF Audit, Budget & Risk Committee meeting Wednesday 7 October: ECB: Governing Council — non-monetary policy meeting, Frankfurt EBF Communications & CSR Steering Group virtual meeting ECB: BIRD Steering Group virtual meeting. Two-day event in Frankfurt Thursday 8 October: Brexit: Virtual POLITICO interview in conversation with Conservative: Lord William Hague of Richmond EBF SSM Strategy group virtual meeting Friday 9 October: EBF Data Economy High-Level working group virtual meeting 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
Reuters: Eurozone banks must provision for newly soured loans: ECB
Eurozone banks must not delay setting aside provisions for loans souring amid the coronavirus crisis so they can free their balance sheets and support the eventual economic recovery, European Central Bank supervisor Andrea Enria said on Thursday at the EBF High-Level Public Dialogue, reports Reuters. Read more Enria's speech
Bloomberg: ECB takes major step toward introducing a digital euro
The European Central Bank will start experimenting with a digital version of the euro while holding a public consultation in a major step toward introducing the technology, reports Bloomberg. “Our role is to secure trust in money,” President Christine Lagarde said as the ECB published a study into the benefits and drawbacks of a digital currency. “This means making sure the euro is fit for the digital age. We should be prepared to issue a digital euro, should the need arise.” Read more
Express: German central bank issues warning to Merkel and EU
One of the leaders of Germany's central bank issued a warning to Angela Merkel and the EU on Thursday writes The Express daily in the UK. Speaking with CNBC, Bundesbank Member of the Executive Board Joachim Wuermeling warned that a "biggest shock is still to come". He made the warning following optimistic claims that the eurozone, led by Germany's manufacturing sector, were already on their way to a swift economic recovery. Read more
Bloomberg: Banks set climate targets for loans & Investments
HSBC Holdings Plc, Societe Generale SA, BNP Paribas SA and other banks, insurance companies and financial firms around the world moved a step closer to reducing their contributions to greenhouse-gas emissions, Bloomberg reported. Read more
SeeNews: ECB to directly oversee 5 Bulgarian, 8 Croatian banks
The European Central Bank started directly supervising five Bulgarian and eight Croatian banks as of October, as part of the two countries' preparations to join the eurozone, SeeNews reported. The move comes after the ECB established close cooperation with the central banks of Bulgaria and Croatia and assessed the significance of the two countries’ banks earlier this year. Read more Croatia News |
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Join and register for free EBF INNOVATION & CYBER THURSDAYS ONLINE, each Thursday between 22 October - 19 November
Join us and interact with European and international experts, policymakers and stakeholders: How can European banks remain competitive in the EU and globally? What can regulators, supervisors and industry do together to foster innovation, security and resilience in financial services? What lies in the way from agile and cybersecure banks to an innovative and resilient financial ecosystem?
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FROM THE MEMBERS this week
BPFI welcomes Code of Conduct on commercial rents
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) welcomes the Government's new Code of Conduct on commercial rents, which has been developed alongside stakeholders and which sets out principles of engagement for commercial landlords and tenants who have been affected by Covid-19. Read more
UK Finance: Fair treatment of vulnerable customers How can vulnerable customers be identified and how can firms ensure these customers receive the best possible support? Fiona Turner, UK Finance, takes a close look at the Financial Conduct Authority's latest draft Guidance on the Fair Treatment of Vulnerable Customers. Read more Finance Denmark: Banks notified authorities fraud with aid packages According to Finance Denmark, since the corona crisis hit the country, and the government implemented the first business aid packages in April, the country's banks have now notified State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime (SØIK) of suspected fraud in more than 2,800 cases. At the beginning of June, the number was 100. Read more (DK)
AEB: Speech by AEB's José María Roldán at Radio Intereconomía
"We have to take advantage of the crisis arising from the pandemic to build a much better future. The Spanish Banking Association (AEB) President, José María Roldán, talks to us here about sustainability and how an economic recovery can be. Read more (ES)
FBF's Philippe Brassac, answers on the crisis and the recovery
Philippe Brassac has just taken over the presidency of the French Banking Federation for one year. Former CEO of the Côte d'Azur mutual bank and current CEO of Crédit Agricole SA, he talks about finance, crisis and recovery with the French newspaper Nice-Matin. Read more (FR) |
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UNEP FI Global Roundtable FINANCING A RESILIENT FUTURE Virtual event, 13-14 October, 14.00 CEST
UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is hosting its 16th Global Roundtable virtually on 13–14 October 2020, in collaboration with Responsible Investor. UNEP FI’s biennial Global Roundtable (GRT) is a major global agenda-setting event on sustainable finance. Held under the theme of “Financing a Resilient Future”, the GRT will bring together decision-makers, experts and thought leaders on a virtual event platform, and help shape approaches to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and accelerating sustainable banking, insurance and investment. To find out more and register please visit: unepfi.org/grt2020 |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS this week
European Commission: Platform on Sustainable Finance
The European Commission published the list of members of the Platform on Sustainable Finance. As required by the Taxonomy Regulation, the Platform on Sustainable Finance will advise the Commission on the development of technical screening criteria for the EU taxonomy, and policy development, amongst other things. In response to the call for applications published in June 2020, the Commission selected 50 members and 10 special observers on the basis of their environmental, sustainable finance or social/human rights expertise. Read more
European Parliament: Update on recent banking developments The European Parliament has published a briefing on recent events and developments in the Banking Union, based on publicly available information. It also includes a state-of-play of the Commission’s work programme on Financial Services, including the Green Finance Strategy, Fintech and digital currencies, the Covid-19 financial services package, Anti Money laundering framework, and the Capital Market Union. Read more
European Commission sends a letter to UK for breach of its obligations
The European Commission sent the United Kingdom a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement. This marks the beginning of a formal infringement process against the United Kingdom. It has one month to reply to the letter. Read more ESMA updated Brexit statements: MiFID II/MiFIR and Benchmarks The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated two statements on its approach to the application of key provisions of MiFID II/MiFIR and the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). The statements cover the impact of Brexit and the provisions after the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. Read more
ECA: EU oversight of State aid to banks needs a fitness check
The European Court of Auditors has published a press release on EU oversight of State aid to banks needing a fitness check. The auditors acknowledge that the EU developed appropriate means and powers for the efficient control of State aid to banks. However, the ECA argues that procedures were sometimes over-long and were not always fully transparent, mainly due to extensive use of informal pre-notification contacts. 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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For questions or suggestions contact mediacentre@ebf.eu
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