📰 EBF Morning Brief - Tuesday 3 November: ECB six-week countdown to stimulus action has banks guessing

FROM THE MEDIA

Verdict: Covid-19 sparks consolidation amongst European banks

Amid the turbulence and uncertainty created by Covid-19, CaixaBank and Bankia are merging in a deal that will create Spain’s largest domestic bank. The combined entity will have more than €650bn in assets and a combined market capitalisation of almost €17bn. According to Verdict, the deal comes as banks seek to reassure shareholders. Read more

Bloomberg: ECB countdown to stimulus action has banks guessing

The European Central Bank’s exceptionally clear pledge to come up with a new package of monetary stimulus at its next policy meeting has given markets plenty to think about, Bloomberg reports. President Christine Lagarde was forthright last week in saying her institution will provide all the support needed for a euro-area economy that is again shutting down under the onslaught of the coronavirus. Read more

Euromoney: It is time for commercial banks to step up on social bonds

As the pandemic has gained momentum, multilateral development banks, government agencies and even the European Union have rushed to the social bond market to raise funds to support their crisis-relief efforts, Euromoney writes. So far, however, it is a story in which western commercial banks have not played a leading role – except, of course, as advisers and bookrunners for other issuers. Read more

Reuters: Government bond yields rise as lockdown restrictions tighten

Germany’s 10-year bond yield held near recent multi-month lows on Monday while peripheral euro zone sovereign debt yields nudged higher as new lockdown measures in Europe increased the demand for safer assets, Reuters reports. As Covid-19 cases surge across Europe, nationwide lockdowns have been announced in Britain, France and Germany, while Austria, Portugal, Spain and Italy are tightening restrictions. Read more

The Paypers: CBDC – building together the future of money

The international debate on central bank digital currency (CBDC) is gaining momentum. And as a result, the world has been sieged by CBDC initiatives stemming from all the parts of the world, that aim to digitalise payments, encourage financial inclusion, improve cross border payments, support fiscal transfer, etc. But what is triggering discussions around this topic and why is it important today? Some industry experts say that CBDC are coming, and whoever is in denial mood is missing the big and important picture, The Paypers reports. Read more

MAIN EVENTS today

Council: Video conference of the Eurogroup

United States Presidential election, 2020

SSM-EBF CIO/CTO Roundtable virtual meeting

EBF Blockchain Task Force online meeting

For more events check the EBF planning calendar HERE

*All events take place in Brussels unless stated otherwise

Join and register for free

TECH MEETS FINANCE: NEWCOMERS IN THE FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

ONLINE conference, Thursday 5 November, 15:00 CET

Tune in & listen to Christian Ossig, CEO, German Banking Association and Chair, EBF Executive Committee at the 'Tech meets finance: newcomers in the financial ecosystem' online conference on 5 Nov at 15:00 CET.
Register and find out more HERE

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

Bankenverband: The digital euro: opportunities & challenges for banks

At the Crypto Assets Conference, Siegfried Utzig, Association of German Banks (Bankenverband), spoke about the Digital Euro. He explained why Central Bank Digital Currency and Stablecoins are, on the one hand, urgently needed innovations, but at the same time pose challenges for banks. Read more (DE)

Liechtenstein Bankers Association: It is a time of great changes

Of course, the pandemic also affects Liechtenstein banks. However, this is by no means the only challenge for the financial industry, Liechtenstein Bankers Association reports. It is already becoming apparent that hybrid forms of work or the "flexible office" will be more widespread in the future, perhaps even become the norm. Companies will increasingly be called upon to offer their employees individualised services adapted to their work and objectives in order to remain an attractive employer. Read more (DE)

NVB: Crypto-assets: Same rules for everyone on blockchain highway

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) - are on the rise worldwide, in various sectors. For the financial sector, crypto-assets are particularly interesting. Dutch banks, like the European Commission, are positive about the innovative power of crypto-assets. The message of the Netherlands Bankers' Association (NVB) is that this requires the strength of (European) legislators and regulators. Eric Groothedde, chairman of the Expert Pool DLT of the NVB, worked together with banking experts on the position paper 'Crypto-assets in Dutch perspective - creating opportunities for a Dutch crypto-asset ecosystem'. Read more (NL)

FFI: Construction with green finance helps against climate change

Ninety per cent of Finland’s residential buildings are detached houses of one or two households. The energy certificates of these buildings are not public and not available to banks in an electronic format. Finance Finland (FFI) has proposed that the certificates should be made available to banks in order to improve the loan granting process. This requires a legislative change, so FFI has taken the proposal to Krista Mikkonen, Finland’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Read more

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ECB: Legal aspects of the ECB’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

The ECB has acted forcefully and well within its mandate in response to the coronavirus pandemic, says Executive Board member Yves Mersch. He states that, as the crisis evolves and subsides, the ECB will reconsider its tools and supervisory practices. Read more

ESMA publishes data for the systematic internaliser calculations

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has published data for the systematic internaliser quarterly calculations for equity, equity-like instruments, bonds and for other non-equity instruments under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR). Read more

BIS: What Comes Next?

The Covid recession has had profoundly uneven effects at an industry level. Although some industries have recovered quickly since the middle of the year, customer service industries could face ongoing constraints until a vaccine or effective treatment for the virus becomes widely available. The quantitative implications of these constraints for other industries and for aggregate GDP are uncertain, BIS writes. Read more

FSB welcomes TCFD status report

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) welcomed the publication of the 2020 status report by the industry-led Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which reports on the further growth in TCFD-aligned disclosures by firms. Read more

Liechtenstein Initiative|FAST - Expert Seminar

Modern Slavery: Investment Risks and Opportunities

Friday 13 November; 14:00 CET

Join the 'Modern Slavery: Investment Risks and Opportunities Expert Seminar' on investment and modern slavery on 13 November 2020. The goals of this virtual event are to: 1) Raise awareness of the investment risks surrounding modern slavery; 2) Discuss concrete measures investors can use to exercise leverage with companies they are invested in for greatest impact; 3)Consider how financial sector actors can develop innovative financing solutions toward the achievement of the goals of the FAST Blueprint. Register HERE

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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.

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