📰 EBF Morning Brief - Wednesday 9 June: Paris and Berlin lead fight to dilute Brussels’ stricter bank capital rules

FROM THE MEDIA

FT: Paris and Berlin lead fight to dilute Brussels’ stricter bank capital rules

The European Commission is expected to propose the rules in September or October. But capitals led by Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Luxembourg are trying to persuade the Commission to moderate the minimum level imposed, the Financial Times reports. The way in which the international standards have been drawn up threatens to penalize EU banks. A new impact assessment by the Copenhagen Economics consultancy commissioned by the European Banking Federation estimated how the Basel agreement would affect eurozone banks and provide recommendations. Read more (€)

Reuters: EU banking watchdog maps out plan to cut red tape for small lenders

Smaller banks across the European Union could save millions of euros by cutting and automating the thousands of data points they must report to regulators, the bloc’s banking watchdog said on Monday. The European Banking Authority (EBA) set out 25 recommendations for smaller, simpler banks to introduce over coming years to save a collective 188 million to 288 million euros ($350 million), or 15% to 24% of their reporting costs, Reuters reports. Read more

Bloomberg: EU to hit back over German ruling dubbed ‘Declaration of War’

Germany faces legal action after the nation’s top court delivered a ruling about the European Central Bank dubbed by an academic as a “declaration of war” on EU judges. The European Commission is poised to kickstart a so-called infringement case as soon as Wednesday, two EU officials said on the basis of anonymity because the decision isn’t official yet, Bloomberg reports. Read more

MAIN EVENTS

Council Working Party on Financial Services meeting

Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Direct Taxation) meeting

EBF ExCo Digital Strategy Group online meeting

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

LATEST RESEARCH

CE: EU implementation of the final Basel III standard: Impact on the European banking sector and the real economy

In light of the upcoming EU implementation of the Final Basel III Standard and the potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis, Copenhagen Economics published a report to assess the impact of the reform on the EU banking sector and real economy. Findings show that an alternative to the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) main guidelines for implementation could reduce the increase in capital requirements and limit the net societal costs. This would bring the impact of the package more in line with economic considerations, the G20 mandate as well as the structures of the European banking and corporate sector. Read more

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

FBF: Review of more than a year of commitments by banks to support their customers and the regional economy

The General Meeting of the Banking Committee of the French Banking Federation (FBF) Normandy was an opportunity to take stock of the exceptional mobilisation shown by the employees of the banking establishments since the beginning of the crisis. For Bruno Goré, President of FBF Normandy: "From the beginning of the health crisis, banks have been able to adapt to accompany their clients in this unprecedented period. They have provided innovative and tailor-made solutions to support the economy". Read more (FR)

Febelfin: Credit volume stays on level despite descended credit request

In the first quarter of 2021, fewer business loans were requested than in the same period of 2020. This decrease was also visible in the production of new loans. The outstanding volume of corporate loans at the end of March 2021 was still 4.3% higher than a year earlier while the refusal rate is at the lowest level. The banks therefore continue to grant credit smoothly, despite the difficult sanitary and economic situation, which certainly has a negative impact on the quality of many credit applications. Read more (NL)

ABI: An audio guide on the Total Cost Indicator is online

The audio guide is online with simple and essential information to facilitate citizens in understanding the Total Cost Indicator (ICC) which allows you to compare the various proposals for payment account. Developed by the Italian Banking Association (ABI) in collaboration with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the audio guide is conceived with a simple and immediate language and with practical information, and it can support blind and partially sighted people thanks to its fully usable format. Read more (IT)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

European Commission: EU budget 2022: Speeding up Europe's recovery and progressing towards a green, digital and resilient future

The European Commission has presented its annual EU budget of €167.8bn for 2022, to be complemented by an estimated €143.5bn in grants under NextGenerationEU. Their combined firepower will mobilise significant investments to boost the economic recovery, safeguard sustainability, and create jobs. It will prioritise green and digital spending in order to make Europe more resilient and fit for the future. Read more

EBA: Second consultation on its technical standards on the calculation of the EUR 30bn threshold for investment firms

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a second consultation on its draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the calculation of the threshold for investment firms. With this consultation, the EBA is seeking to address the level playing field concerns raised by the industry in relation to geographical constraints of some undertakings a well as to ensure a more proportionate and consistent methodology for the calculation of the thresholds. The consultation runs until 17 July 2021. Read more

ESMA: Opinion on Product Intervention Measures on Turbostest

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued an opinion on product intervention measures communicated by The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). These measures concern turbos which are high-risk leveraged products with which investors speculate that the prices of the underlying asset, such as a share, an index or a currency, will rise or fall. ESMA’s opinion concludes that the proposed measures are justified and proportionate. Read more

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