FROM THE MEDIA this week

WSJ: Europe’s banks take hefty charges as pandemic impact emerges

Some of Europe’s biggest lenders reported hefty coronavirus-related charges in the second quarter as the pandemic’s impact on their businesses became clearer, writes the Wall Street Journal. Read more (€) Bloomberg CNN FT(€)
 

Q2 results: Santander, Barclays, BNP, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank has increased its forecast for revenue this year after it posted the strongest surge in fixed-income trading revenue in almost eight years, more than offsetting €761m of coronavirus-related loan loss provisions. Spain's largest bank Santander took a €12.6 billion impairment charge at several of its global businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Barclays set aside a higher than expected 1.6 billion pounds to cover a possible rise in loan losses in Q2. BNP Paribas reported a net income of €2.3 billion for the second quarter of the year, representing a 6.8% drop from a year ago. Credit Suisse beat quarterly profit expectations, due to a boost in trading, and unveiled an overhaul of its investment bank. Other banks that reported results this week include BBVA, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered. Deutsche Bank Santander Barclays BNP Paribas Credit Suisse 
 

GlobalCapital: Banks can operate below capital buffers until 2023 - ECB

The ECB said this week it would not be pushing banks to meet their Pillar 2 requirements until at least until the endof 2022, writes Global Capital. The announcement was made as the ECB presented the results of its vulnerability study, concluding that banks withstood the pandemic induced stress. The analysis also said that banks in the euro area could soon face difficulties if the current crisis deepens and erodes their capital positions, writes CNBC. Read more (€) CNBC

Reuters: ECB asks banks to pause dividends for longer

The European Central Bank extended on Tuesday a recommendation to euro zone banks not to pay dividends until the end of the year and allowed them to eat into their capital and liquidity buffers for even longer, to help them cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more Bloomberg FT(€)
 

Cointelegraph: Ransomware victims are fighting back

The No More Ransom decryption tool repository, an initiative launched by Europol to combat ransomware attacks, has saved individuals €530 million in ransom demands since 2016, writes Cointelegraph. Over the past four years, the repo has gathered over 4.2 million visitors from 188 countries thanks to a compilation of tools from 163 partners. Read more InfoSecurity
 

FT: US banks’ loan provisions could be double rate of European rivals

US banks’ profits will be hit twice as hard by provisions for loan losses as a result of the pandemic than their European peers, consultants at Accenture predicted, in a study that upends the traditional wisdom of European banks’ relative weakness. Read more (€) PYMNTS

FROM THE MEMBERS this week

UK Finance responds to HM Treasury announcement on state aid rules

Responding to the announcement from HM Treasury of a change to state aid rules relating to facilities offered under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Stephen Pegge, Managing Director of Commercial Finance at UK Finance, said: "This change will make a real difference for those smaller, viable businesses who had previously struggled to secure loans under the schemes because they were deemed to be ‘undertakings in difficulty." Read more

Germany: Why a safe deposit box can be useful

Whether old family jewellery, gold or even the exclusive stamp collection: there are things that are so valuable or precious that one is reluctant to keep them at home. A safe place for these valuables is the safe deposit box - here all items are better protected against theft, water or fire damage. Important documents such as certificates, family registers or wills are also kept safe here writes the Association of German Banks in its latest post. Read more (DE)

Liechtenstein: Holiday give-away successful

The "Giving Joy" campaign, offering free holiday activities for children by the Liechtenstein Bankers Association (LBV) and the Office of Social Services has almost ended. "As of Wednesday, over 108 leisure activities have already been successfully carried out," says Claudia Guntli, project manager of the LBV. "We seem to have met the taste well, as only two events could not be carried out due to a lack of registrations". Read more (DE)

BANKING ESSENTIALS WEBINAR

Sustainability & Going Green: How will Banks adapt to this new world?
Tuesday 15 September

As regulatory pressure mounds, it is imperative that banks have a clear plan to address climate risks, and to finance a green agenda. Join our experts as they discuss how can bank’s achieve a successful climate management strategy. Register HERE

FROM THE EBF this week

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS this week

EBA sees first impact of Covid-19 materialising in EU banks’ Q1 data

The European Banking Authority published its quarterly Risk Dashboard together with the results of the Risk Assessment Questionnaire. The updated data shows that the impact of COVID-19 was mainly reflected in a contraction of banks’ capital ratios and profitability, the cost of risk increased, whereas non-performing loans ratios remained stable, confirming that the impact of the pandemic on asset quality can be delayed. Read more

ECB: The impact of the Covid-19 on the Euro area labour market

The ECB has published a preliminary assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the euro area labour market. It notes the moderate increase in the unemployment rate up to the end of May is in sharp contrast with indicators of economic activity. It concludes that the use of short-term work schemes is a key factor in the overall muted immediate response of the labour market to the Covid-19 crisis. Read more

EBA calls on the institutions to prepare for the end of Brexit transition

The European Banking Authority recalls the importance of adequate preparations by financial institutions for the end of the transition period between the EU and UK. The EBA calls on the institutions to finalise the full execution of their contingency plans in accordance with the conditions agreed with the relevant competent authorities and ensure adequate communication to concerned EU customers. Read more

Recommendation of the ECB on dividend distributions during the Covid-19 

The ECB has published a recommendation on dividend distributions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ECB recommends: “that until 1 January 2021 no dividends are paid out and no irrevocable commitment to pay out dividends is undertaken by credit institutions for the financial years 2019 and 2020 and that credit institutions refrain from share buy-backs aimed at remunerating shareholders.” Read more

EDPS: Data Protection, money laundering and terrorism financing

In its Opinion, the EDPS reacted to the European Commission’s action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing (C(2020)2800 final), published on 7 May 2020. The EDPS believes that the Commission should make data protection a golden standard in the context of AML/CFT compliance processes. Read more

The European Banking Federation and fTLD Registry Services (fTLD) are partnering to educate the European banking sector about the cybersecurity role .BANK plays in protecting banks against Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, phishing and spoofing attacks that lead to breaches, identity theft and financial fraud. fTLD administers the .BANK domain and the EBF has served on its Advisory Council since 2013. To learn more about the security benefits of .BANK, visit https://www.register.bank/ebf/ or contact fTLD at EBF@fTLD.com.

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.