FROM THE MEDIA

Bloomberg: ECB’s bank payout decision complicated by pandemic

European banking regulators, who had been moving closer to lifting a de-facto ban on dividends, are now increasingly worried about the worsening economic outlook and its impact on lenders’ balance sheets because of the resurgent coronavirus, Bloomberg reports. Read more

City A.M.: Brussels captures EU states financial sovereignty

The European Union achieved spectacular market success this month when it launched its new “Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency” bond programme (SURE). The €100bn programme will be used by the EU to support member nations addressing pandemic job security and social welfare weakness over the next year, City A.M. reports. The first €17bn bond issue off the SURE programme achieved perhaps the largest order book for a financial asset in history: €233bn in demand from investors. Read more Independent.ie

Finextra: Barclays eyes further cuts in office space

The UK bank posted profit before tax of £1.1 billion, almost double the £507 million analysts had forecast. Provisions for bad loans at £607 million were also way below analyst expectation and 63% down on the previous quarter. However, the UK bank intends to keep a tight rein on costs as it looks to the lessons learned from the Covid pandemic about the economic benefits of staff working from home. According to Finextra, currently, 55,000 of Barclays 80,000 roster are working remotely. The bank says it has relocated call centre staff to bank branches rather than sweeping office space. Read more

Bloomberg: Spare cash spurs record demand for debt 

There’s so much cash in Europe there are just not enough bonds to go around. The amount of spare liquidity in the euro-area economy hit an all-time high of 3.2 trillion euros ($3.8 trillion) this month and plenty of that is chasing any new debt issue, Bloomberg reports. This was seen in the record 233 billion euros of orders for the European Union’s debut social bonds. Read more

Pymnts.com: Ripple mulls moving headquarters abroad

MAIN EVENTS today

Join and register for free

EUROPEAN DATA ECONOMY & OPEN FINANCE: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

ONLINE conference, Thursday 29 October, 15:00 CEST

Tune in and listen to Marcel Haag, Director, Horizontal policies, DG FISMA at the European Commission, speaking at 'European data economy & open finance: what does it all mean?', our webinar taking place on 29 October at 15:00

Do not forget to register: https://www.ebf.eu/events/european-data-economy-open-finance/

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

FBF: Employment in banks

The French Banking Federation (FBF) has published a memo on employment in the French banking industry. The French banking sector is a major player in the labour market. According to the memo, with more than 44,000 new hires in 2019, the bank is one of the largest private-sector employers in France and offers sustainable and increasingly skilled jobs. Read more

AEB: Financial stability: economy and markets

The extraordinary economic policy measures have been vital to prevent further deterioration of the economy by the pandemic, but the performance of the markets reflects their underlying weakness. José Luis Martínez,  the  Association of the Spanish Banks (AEB) spokesman, tells us more on his latest blog post. Read more (ES)

UK Finance: Mortgage Prisoners: next steps to a new mortgage

This week mortgage prisoners who are not in arrears will begin to receive letters from their existing lenders letting them know that they may qualify for a better rate mortgage. As a result of changes introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which might help those customers who are up to date with their payments switch to a more affordable mortgage deal, the mortgage industry has come together to make the journey to a better rate as smooth as possible. Sue Rossiter, UK Finance Principal, Mortgage Regulation, discusses the next steps for 'mortgage prisoners' on the journey to a new mortgage on her latest blog post. Read more 

SBA: Debates in a greenhouse (of Plexiglas)...

One of the major issues for the financial centre was the revision of the Money Laundering Act, which the National Council had refused to discuss in the spring. The Upper House reversed this decision, but not without making a major adjustment to the draft proposed by the Federal Council. The representatives of the cantons thus decided to exclude lawyers and other advisers from the revision and not to extend the anti-money laundering defence to this professional category. The Swiss Bankers'  Association (SBA) has been in favour of this move since the start of the debate. The industry is convinced that the Money Laundering Act needs to be adapted to enable Switzerland to emerge from the enhanced follow-up process of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Read more (FR)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

European Commission launched VAT rules consultation

The European Commission has launched a roadmap consulting on the review of VAT rules for financial and insurance services. It aims to address the complexity and difficulty regarding the application of current VAT rules for financial and insurance services and focusses on modernising the VAT treatment. The consultation closes on 19 November 2020. Read more

European Parliament’s Banking Union reports in 2015 - 2019

The European Parliament has published an in-depth analysis of the Banking Union reports from 2015 to 2019. It provides an overview of the European Parliament’s expectations and priorities for the Banking Union as set out in its annual Banking Union reports and includes a comparison of the EP’s Banking Union reports over the past five years. Read more

ESMA consults on CCP supervisory reviews and evaluation processes

ESMA, the EU’s securities markets regulator, launched a consultation on guidelines addressing the consistency of supervisory reviews and evaluation processes of CCPs under Article 21 of EMIR. The consultation paper seeks input from all interested stakeholders on draft guidelines aimed at clarifying common procedures and methodologies for the supervisory review and evaluation process of CCPs by their competent authorities. Read more

BIS: Focus on the future of banking supervision in a changing world

At the 21st International Conference of Banking Supervisors, senior banking supervisors and central bankers discussed issues related to the future of banking supervision in a changing world. Discussions covered the digitalisation of finance and the evolution of banking models, operational resilience, climate-related financial risks and remote working arrangements. This was the first time the Basel Committee has worked with a host country to offer a completely virtual conference. Read more

European Commission weekly schedule

European Central Bank weekly schedule

Find out more about the ECB's engagements and activities for the upcoming week. Read more
 

European Parliament weekly schedule

Find out more about the Parliament's engagements and activities for the upcoming week. Read more

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.

Recommend the EBF newsletters to a colleague. Click here to sign up!

European Banking Federation