EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 4 December 2023

An overview of the main financial regulation and banking stories this week and a look ahead to key events for the upcoming week, brought to you by the European Banking Federation

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FROM THE MEDIA

The Banker: Banks face tougher requirements as EU reaches provisional agreement on instant payments

Euro instant payments will become universally available under a provisional agreement between the European Commission and Parliament, but its requirements may pose challenges for banks. As a result of the banking industry pushing back on formerly proposed timelines, banks will now have nine months to receive inbound instant payments instead of six and 18 months to process outbound instant payments, The Banker reports. Read more

Reuters: EU to adopt broader approach to boost capital market

Private finance has a key role in deepening the EU capital market to boost investment, with the bloc's finance ministers turning to "bottom-up" measures for faster progress, Central Bank of Ireland Deputy Governor Derville Rowland said. As reported by Reuters, Rowland added that the push towards a deeper capital market would also focus on steps taken at the national level or initiatives by market participants. Read more

S&P Global Market Intelligence: Prospect of widespread, lingering European bank taxes spooks investors

New bank taxes implemented across Europe in the last 18 months could be in place much longer than originally planned, intensifying concerns among investors already wary of the region's lenders. "While some windfall taxes have specific end dates, I think many will be extended beyond those dates," Adrian Prettejohn, Europe economist at consultancy Capital Economics told S&P Global Market Intelligence. Read more

FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA for next week

Monday 4 December

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union (Financial Services)

Council Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues

Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Direct Taxation)

European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Bloomberg Green at COP28 event

European Commission ‘Monitoring green financial flows’ EU at COP28 webinar

European Commission ‘Assessing climate-related financial risks’ EU at COP28 webinar

European Commission ‘The need for further transparency and integrity on ESG rating activities’ EU at COP28 event

International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) Annual Event (EU at COP28)

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) ‘Mobilising climate-nature finance in the international financing architecture’ webinar

Tuesday 5 December

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union (Financial Services)

Council Working Party of Financial Counsellors

European Data Protection & Privacy Conference

Geneva Graduate Institute ‘Still big to fail? Reform needs after the demise of Credit Suisse’ event

CEPS ‘Financial data access: how does it really impact credit markets?’ event

POLITICO ‘AperoPro – the incoming Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU event

EBI ‘Making bank resolution more effective – the CMDI Initiative’ webinar

The Financial Times ‘Fostering cross-industry collaboration to achieve climate commitments’ webinar

Bloomberg Green at COP28 event

EESC ‘Fostering the climate and food convergence in COP negotiations – the role of governance and finance’ EU at COP 28 event

Wednesday 6 December

Egmont Institute and European University Institute ’Regulatory priorities in the EU financial sector’ workshop (Wim Mijs, EBF CEO, and Maria Ana Barata, EBF Policy Adviser, Prudential Policy Supervision, speaking)

Deutsche Bundesbank ‘Still Too Big to Fail? Lessons from the Failure of Credit Suisse Bundesbank’ event

Banque de France ‘The uncertainty effects of dissent in monetary policy committee’ seminar

CEPOL ‘The evolution of cybercrime in the AI-era’ webinar

CEPS ‘Cybersecurity in the European Union: going beyond the ‘Brussels Effect’’ summit

Chatham House ‘The UN cybercrime convention: Implementing a treaty and managing risks’ event

The Financial Times ‘How is AI transforming financial services?’ event

Thursday 7 December

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union (Financial Services)

Council Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues

GCR Live ‘Competition Law & Financial Services’ event

IADI Europe Regional Committee webinar

CEPS ‘Banking supervision: What can we learn from the March 2023 banking turmoil?’ event

The Financial Times ‘Tackling the complexities of digital sovereignty in Europe’ event

Friday 8 December

Economic and Financial Affairs Council

FROM EBF MEMBERS

AEB: Promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities

Plena Inclusión and the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) Foundation have signed a collaboration agreement to develop activities to improve the financial and digital skills of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The objective is to carry out initiatives that contribute to the participation of this group in society. Read more (ES)

ABBL: Updated guidance and engagement with the Global Forum

The Luxembourg Bankers' Association (ABBL) met the assessment team of the Global Forum to discuss the implementation of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account information. Ten years on, ABBL remains fully committed to Tax Transparency and is providing its members assistance in the implementation of underlying standards. Read more

Finance Finland: Will the Wild West of ESG ratings soon be history?

The European Commission has published a proposal for a regulation on ESG ratings. The regulation aims to make it easier for investors, companies, and other entities to assess sustainability factors. Finance Finland supports the proposal but considers it important to ensure that its scope of application is purposeful and it will not introduce any unnecessary barriers to market entry. Read more

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ECB: The benefits of single supervision for the banking sector

"We have a strong banking sector in Europe which has gone from amplifying shocks to absorbing them," says European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde. European banking supervision’s work has been key to this. Read more

EBA: Commitment to enhance climate-related and broader sustainability considerations in the EU banking sector

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its environmental statement in the context of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). The EBA highlighted its effort to integrate sustainability aspects in areas such as risk management, disclosures, supervisory practices, climate stress testing, and the Pillar 1 framework. Read more

ESAs: Clarity and tips to consumers on sustainable finance

The three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published an interactive factsheet that answers consumers’ most frequently asked questions about sustainable finance. The factsheet provides tips to consumers considering buying financial products with sustainability features, including loans, investments, insurance, and pensions. Read more

FROM THE EBF

Report of the C-ESG Risk Roundtable Data Workstream

This report is a result of the joint work of the WS members facilitated by Nordea Bank Abp in its role as Data WS (DWS) chair. The objective of the report was to identify commonly applied practices for addressing data and methodological uncertainties associated with disclosures against the Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on prudential disclosures and ESG risks (Pillar 3). Read more

New EBF Vacancies! Work with us!

Visit our Vacancies page to learn more about the opening positions at the EBF. Read more

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. The federation 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. Website: www.ebf.eu

European Banking Federation