EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 11 October 2021

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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SRB Conference 2021 "Bank resolution: delivering for financial stability" on Thursday, 14 October 2021!

The Sixth Annual Conference of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) will take place online on Thursday 14 October 2021. The event is dedicated to "Bank resolution: delivering for financial stability" and it will address, among other topics, the resolution framework and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the banking sector. Speakers will include Commissioner Mairead McGuinness; Andrea Enria, Chair, Single Supervisory Mechanism at European Central Bank (ECB); Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance, Ireland & Eurogroup President and Christian Sewing, CEO at Deutsche Bank. Read more

FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA for next week
 

Monday 11 October

• French Fintech Week

• CEPOL ‘Financial intelligence and analysis of financial data: follow-up’ course

• CEPOL ‘Darkweb and cryptocurrencies — advanced’ event

• CEPOL ‘Critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity’ course

• Chatham conference 'Cyber 2021'

• IIF annual membership meeting

• European Parliament Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age meeting

• European Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union meeting

• Banco de Portugal conference on financial stability

• EBF CEO roundtable

• SSM Banks CEO roundtable (online)

Tuesday 12  October

• The European SDG Summit — Financing the Future conference

• CEPS ‘Risk-sharing in monetary unions: The role of federal fiscal policy and capital markets’ event

• EIB 'EU and US Perspectives: Changing climates' conference

• Politico Pro 'Raising the green game in finance: how can Europe deliver?' conference

• QED 'EU financial regulation' conference

• EBF Blockchain Task Force virtual meeting

• EBF Hedge Accounting Working Group virtual meeting

Wednesday 13 October

• Finance Watch ‘Sustainable Corporate Governance: Setting the incentives and obligations for companies to transition towards sustainability’ webinar

• European Commission 'Workshop on the integration of ESG factors into the EU banking prudential framework'

Thursday 14 October

• SRB Conference 2021 — Bank resolution: delivering for financial stability

• European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs meeting

Friday 15 October

• Deadline for submissions on European Banking Authority consultation on the limited network exclusion under PSD2

• EBF Cybersecurity Working Group virtual meeting

• EBF Legal Committee meeting

• EBF AML & Financial Crime Committee virtual meeting

For a full-year overview of key financial regulation events: click here 

FROM THE MEDIA

Bloomberg: European banks faltering in push to avert tougher capital rules

European banks expect the European Commission to disregard their plea to retain significant freedom to assess the riskiness of their own loans, as the region implements the Basel III standards. Applying the output floor to all capital buffers “overburdens” banks and the economy, a spokesperson for the European Banking Federation (EBF) said in an email to Bloomberg. Tackling issues such as how to treat unrated companies would help “avoid a steep increase in the cost of lending,” the EBF said. Read more

EURACTIV: European Commission’s economic policy plans for 2022

EURACTIV reports that a leaked document has revealed the Commissions plans for economic policy in 2022, with a focus on fairer taxation and further integration of EU capital markets. According to the document, the Commission will also look to increase access to capital for SMEs by looking again at the SME Listing Act. Furthermore, the Commission will adopt a proposal regarding the harmonisation of insolvency law. Read more

FT: ECB minutes reveal concerns over eurozone inflation forecasts

Some European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers have argued it is underestimating future inflation, warned about the risk of a “regime shift” in prices and pushed for a bigger cut in asset purchases than it ultimately decided at its meeting last month, the Financial Times (FT) reports. These concerns by some of the ECB’s more conservative governing council members about “upside risks” to its inflation forecast were revealed in the minutes of its September meeting, published by the central bank. Read more

FROM EBF MEMBERS

BdB: SIM swapping: when fraudsters hijack the mobile phone number

What can criminals do with your cell phone number? Ever heard of SIM swapping? The Association of German Banks (BdB) explains how the cell phone number can be misused for while providing some general pieces of advice to protect yourself. Read more (DE)

SBA: The abolition of the issuance stamp duty on equity capital: A judicious measure

The Swiss PS has launched a referendum against the abolition of the issuance stamp duty on equity capital. It is now up to Swiss voters to ensure that companies and start-ups in our country are freed from this tax. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) is in favor of abolishing the issuance stamp duty on equity capital, which will help strengthen our economic and financial center. Read more (FR)

AEB: Knowing accounts

Spain is ranked 11th out of the fifteen countries analyzed in financial education and 15% of the students lack the slightest financial knowledge. This emerges from the Survey of Financial Competencies of the Bank of Spain. According to the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), redressing these results should be a goal of society as a whole, which requires families and educational authorities to be decisively involved. Read more (ES)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

European Commission: Commissioner McGuiness Speech on Consumer Protection

The European Commission has published Commissioner McGuiness’ keynote speech at “Consumers in a digital world – what have we learned?”, the 8th Joint ESAs Consumer Protection Day. McGuiness highlighted that the Commission want to put an open finance framework in place by 2024 while the retail investment strategy will be released next year. Read more

ECB: Prospects for inflation

The rise in inflation has intensified the debate about the persistence of price pressures, says European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel. High-quality academic research is vital to understanding how inflation expectations and behavioural changes may affect monetary transmission. Read more

FSB: Progress Report on the implementation of the FSB High-Level Recommendations

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) have published a progress report on the implementation of the FSB High-Level Recommendations regarding regulation, supervision and oversight of “global stablecoin” arrangements. The report takes stock of the implementation of the FSB high-level recommendations across jurisdictions and describes the status of the review of the existing standard-setting body (SSB) frameworks, standards, guidelines and principles in light of the FSB high-level recommendations. Read more

FROM THE EBF  this week

European Commission consultation on the functioning of the EU securitisation framework: EBF response

The European Banking Federation (EBF) has responded to the targeted consultation of the European Commission on the functioning of the EU securitisation framework. The EBF welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to comprehensively review the EU securitisation framework. For the securitisation market to develop, any legislative proposal under the European Commission’s Capital Markets Union Action Plan will need to address the prudential treatment and the reporting obligations. Particular points for attention are the capital non-neutrality, the significant risk transfer process, the liquidity treatment of securitisations, and disclosure obligations under the ESMA templates. Read more

EBA consultation on review on Guidelines for the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process: EBF response

The European Banking Federation (EBF) has responded to the consultation of the European Banking Authority (EBA) on its review of Guidelines on common procedures and methodologies for supervisory review and evaluation process. The response comments on the inclusion of ML/TF risks in the SREP Guidelines, the recognition of Single Point of Entry (SPE) and Multiple Point of Entry (MPE) structures, the inclusion of climate risk in P2G as well as the diversification between risks and geographies. Besides, particular attention is paid to the setting of Pillar 2 Guidance, Pillar 2 requirement and Pillar 2's guidance for excessive leverage along with the principle of proportionality, temporary capital add-ons, and transparency with regard to decisions made in the context of Pillar 2. Read more

EBA consultation on credit risk adjustments in the context of risk weights: EBF response

The European Banking Federation (EBF) has responded to the consultation of the European Banking Authority (EBA) regarding the amendments to RTS on credit risk adjustments in the context of the calculation of risk weights. The EBF supports the EBA amendment, which is an important step in the implementation of the European Commission NPLs (non-performing loans) Action Plan. The amendment gives support to the secondary markets for NPLs. However, the EBF suggests some amendments to the EBA proposal, which would enhance the clarity of the proposal. Read more

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