📰 EBF Morning Brief - Thursday 12 December

FROM THE MEDIA

Euromoney: EU’s anti-money laundering body finally takes shape

The European Union is finally moving to seal a gaping chasm in the internal market’s institutional makeup, with a new anti-money laundering authority, and a common structure for financial intelligence-gathering, reports Euromoney. In a sign of the political tests the new powers will face, the EU has already stopped short of what the European Parliament says is a vital third element – namely a financial police force with investigative capabilities. Read more GGF

FT: EU states block green finance deal in setback for climate goals

Reuters states that EU states have blocked a set of new rules governing which financial products can be called “green” and “sustainable”, EU officials said, in a major setback for the bloc’s climate ambitions. The decision halted a deal struck just last week by lawmakers and the Finnish presidency of the EU, which negotiators hailed as a landmark compromise that could establish a global standard on green bonds and other financial products aimed at climate-conscious investors. Euractiv ezpects a drama and anticlimax at the EU summit in Brussels some Eastern states will have to be persuaded to support the proposed carbon neutrality goal for 2050. Read more Euractiv

Law360: EU officials press treasury over FATCA reciprocity efforts

According to Law360, European Union officials have pressed the U.S. Treasury Department for information on efforts to improve reciprocity when the IRS gets information from EU banks under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, as seen in a letter shared with bloc members Wednesday. The letter cited “the lack of equivalent reciprocity” from the Internal Revenue Service when European banks report account information about American citizens.

Global Capital: Advocacy groups tussle over Basel IV implementation

The fight to influence the way in which EU lawmakers implement the final Basel financial rules is heating up towards the end of 2019, according to Global Capital. Advocacy groups seem to tussle over the potential impact on the European banking sector. Read more (€)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

European Commission: European Green Deal presented

On 11 December, the European Commission published its European Green Deal (EGD), including a roadmap with concrete actions. A major part of the new Commission’s Strategy and a key policy document for von der Leyen’s first hundred days in office, the EGD constitute a growth strategy with the aim of transforming the EU into a resource-efficient and competitive economy which is carbon neutral from 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. By doing so it also wants to cement its position as a global leader on climate change. European Green Deal, Roadmap

ECON Hearing with Andrea Enria: 12 December

Ahead of the public hearing with the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, Andrea Enria, with MEPs in the ECON Committee on 12 December, the Economic Governance Support Unit of the European Parliament published a briefing which addressed the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) priorities for 2020, Banks’ profitability issues, Stress testing developments, some individual bank cases, supervisory issues and policies (anti-money laundering, Brexit, and impact of Basel III and IFRS9), and the completion of the Banking Union. Read more

EBF MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

UK: The Next Steps for Outsourcing and Third-Party Risk Management

The regulatory news last week was dominated by the recently published operational resilience consultation papers, which our Director of Operational Resilience Andrew Rogan writes about here. However, at the same time, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) also published a consultation paper on outsourcing and third-party risk management (‘outsourcing paper’), which includes a draft supervisory statement in the appendix. Read more

Germany: Planned stock tax is bad news for savers

Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has presented a bill to introduce a share tax in ten European countries. The tax will become due in 2021 when shares in large companies are purchased. However, the bill will be paid by the saver. Read more (DE)

MAIN EVENTS today

Council: Euro Summit starts in Brussels

ECON committee meetings

ECB: Press conference following the Governing Council meeting, Frankfurt

The Nordic Financial Ecosystem Forum 2019. EBF Head of Financing Growth Burçak Inel and EBF Head of Cybersecurity & Innovation Alexandra Maniati attending

Cybersecurity@CEPS Summit. EBF's Sergio Tringali attending

EBF Payment Systems Committee meeting

*All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise

FROM THE EBF

EBF VIDEO

COP25: Dombrovskis on how banks can support sustainability transition

ABOUT THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION

The European Banking 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. The EBF serves as the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. Website: www.ebf.eu Twitter: @EBFeu.