FROM THE MEDIA

Bloomberg: Banks warn they’re not ready for ECB historic climate test

A survey of 20 major European banks conducted by Bloomberg shows there is near-universal agreement that the banking industry has little likelihood of being ready for climate stress tests by 2022. In large part, this is due to the fact that much of the client data needed to inform the tests won’t be available until a year later. For that reason, banks are lobbying to ensure the results aren’t made public. The European Central Bank (ECB) has made clear it’s unhappy with the industry’s progress to date. Read more

Reuters: Life after the ECB? The tapering debate begins

With the eurozone economy roaring back to life, the European Central Bank (ECB) will debate a cut in its stimulus, beginning a hard-fought discussion on how to dismantle the crisis-fighting measures. The decision on a reduction in bond purchases is due on Thursday and is relatively uncontroversial. According to Reuters, the message that accompanies the move may be more crucial. Hawks who favor tight monetary policy will see it as the first step towards the exit while doves, who are in the majority on the 25-member Governing Council, will sell it as just an incremental move and not the start of tapering. Read more

The Guardian: European banks storing €20bn a year in tax havens

Leading European banks are booking around €20bn (£17bn) a year, equivalent to 14% of their total profits, in tax havens, according to a new report. Even though the banks book 14% of their profits in tax havens, the percentage of staff employed in them is only 4%, The Guardian reports. The figures emerge from an analysis, conducted by the EU Tax Observatory, of 36 big banks required to publicly report country-by-country data on their activities. Read more

MAIN EVENTS

• EPFSF 'Sustainable Finance - Linked to COP 26' workshop. EBF CEO Wim Mijs speaking

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

• Climate Alliance ‘Localising the European Green Deal’ conference

• Eurostat: GDP and main aggregates/Employment (second quarter 2021)

• EBF Communications & CSR Steering Group online meeting

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

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

EBA’s study shows that EU banks’ funding plans are poised to gradually return to a pre-pandemic funding composition by 2023

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its annual update on EU banks’ funding plans, which helps EU supervisors assess the sustainability of banks’ main sources of funding. The results of the funding plans assessment show the impact the pandemic had on EU banks’ funding composition. The plans point to a gradual ‘normalization’ of banks’ sources of funding over the next three years. This implies in particular a partial replacement of central bank funding with market-based funding. Read more

ESMA: Open hearing on EMIR Reporting Guidelines

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will hold an open hearing on EMIR Reporting Guidelines. The hearing is part of the consultation on draft Guidelines on a wide range of topics related to reporting, data quality, and data access and on the validation rules that clarify dependencies between data fields, as well as their applicability in the different use cases. The closing date for responses is 30 September 2021. Read more

Council of the European Union: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

The Council of the European Union’s informal videoconference of the members of the Working Party on Company Law (Sustainability information) has outlined the agenda for its meeting on 7th September. This will examine the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive proposal. Read more

FROM THE EBF

ESMA consultation on amendments to MAR Guidelines on delayed disclosure of inside information: EBF response

The EBF has responded to the consultation of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on its Guidelines on delayed disclosure of inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) in relation to its interaction with prudential supervision. In its response, the EBF addresses the disclosure of decisions regarding redemptions, reductions and repurchases of own funds instruments as well as the disclosure of draft SREP decisions. Besides, the disclosure of Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) and of Pillar 2 Guidance (P2G) are also part of the response. Read more

ECSAs: The banking sector calls for participation in the development of the EU e-ID Toolbox

The European Credit Sector Associations  (ECSAs), submitted joint feedback on 30 August to the European Commission’s initiative for an EU digital ID scheme for online transactions across the Member States. The ECSAs include the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), and the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB). The organizations welcome the Commission’s proposal, announced on 3 June, for a regulation establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity, as well as the high ambitions outlined in the initiative, which represent a positive development in the creation of a future-proof EU single digital market. Read more

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European Banking Federation