EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 18 January 2021 An overview of the main financial regulation and banking stories this week and a look ahead to key events for the upcoming week, brought to you by the European Banking Federation.
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Banking Union and NPLs to be discussed by finance ministers |
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European finance ministers are to meet again on Monday and Tuesday. Euroroup President Paschal Donohoe (photo) is due to report on the state of progress of the banking union. He is also due to discuss renewed efforts for the European deposit insurance scheme (EDIS) across the single currency area. In an interview last week Mr Donohoe said that "there is a renewed responsibility on those within the Eurogroup to look at how we can deepen the foundations of the euro and deepen the economic architecture of it”, given the economic toll from Covid-19. On Tuesday, together with colleagues from non-euro countries, finance ministers will hear from Portugal which will present its Ecofin work programme for the EU presidency in the first half of this year. EU finance ministers are expected to discuss the EU Commission's action plan for tackling non-performing loans in the aftermath of the pandemic. The proposed strategy aims to ensure that EU households and businesses continue to have access to the funding they need throughout the Covid crisis. Read more |
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FINREG AGENDA for next week Monday 18 January: Eurogroup finance ministers meeting. Work programme European Parliament plenary meeting opens in Brussels. Agenda Tuesday 19 January: Ecofin meeting of economics and finance ministers. Agenda 10 CET: European Central Bank publishes Q4 Bank Lending Survey. Website European Parliament plenary meeting Wednesday 20 January: European Parliament plenary meeting 11 CET: ECB publishes consumer pricing data. Website Thursday 21 January: EBF Brexit Task Force meeting Governing Council of the ECB: monetary policy meeting followed by a press conference. Livestream European Parliament plenary meeting |
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FROM THE MEDIA this week Bloomberg: U.K. starts talks with EU on finance cooperation The United Kingdom began talks with the EU this week on how regulators will cooperate over financial services now Brexit has been completed, Bloomberg reported. Read more Reuters: City of London unlikely to get broad EU access The EU is unlikely to grant broad access for the City of London, and the flight of euro share trading from Britain to the bloc is permanent, UK bankers said on Monday. Read more S&P: Skepticism around EU deal, as UK says no to rule-taker role Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has said a deal with the European Union on financial equivalence that left the U.K. as a financial regulatory rule-taker would not be worth having, writes S&P Global. Read more FT: HSBC targeted by shareholders over fossil fuel financing Investors file resolution demanding bank publishes strategy and targets, the Financial Times reports. Read more (€) |
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EU TAXONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITIES Join us at the EBF-UNEP FI event 26-27 Jan. |
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Join us together with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) on 26 and 27 January for an online event to mark the launch of our joint EU Taxonomy report: Testing the application of the EU Taxonomy to core banking products: High level recommendations. REGISTER |
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FROM THE EBF this week
Digital Euro: EBF presents its views to ECB
The European Banking Federation (EBF) has submitted its views on the introduction of a digital euro as a central bank digital currency to the European Central Bank (ECB), which closed its public consultation on this topic on Tuesday. EBF welcomes detailed discussions with sufficient time prior to a decision on a project launch, and stands ready to engage with the ECB in conducting additional assessments and applying investigative tools beyond the launched public consultation. Read more |
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FROM EBF MEMBERS this week Finance Norge: Necessary assets made available for landslide victims Finance Norge reports that landslide victims in Gjerdrum receive help in retrieving first necessity personal belongings. The insurance companies' residual value rescue service (RVR), administered by Finans Norge, organizes and finances the work. Read more (NO) SwissBanking: Banks support the new proposal for the CO2 law The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) advocates for a "yes" on the CO2 law, to be voted by referendum later this year. The SBA pursues the ambition to position Switzerland as the leading international hub for sustainable finance, as the new CO2 law would create reliable framework conditions and effectively support the transformation to a more sustainable economy. Read more (DE) NVB: Consumer confidence in banks stable, with an upward trend The Dutch Banking Association (NVB) reports that confidence in the banking sector has remained stable over the past year, with a slight increase during the year, according to the Banking Confidence Monitor 2020 that the Ipsos agency conducted among nearly 12,000 Dutch bank customers. Read more (NL) CBA: Donations to help against the earthquake The Croatian Banking Association (CBA) invites citizens and companies to responsibly donate to citizens affected by the earthquake. Namely, some citizens suffered great material damage and other consequences of the earthquake. Read more (HR) |
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GREEN BANKING AND GREEN CENTRAL BANKING:
WHAT ARE THE RIGHT CONCEPTS?
ILF conference on Monday 25 January
Wim Mijs, CEO of the EBF, will moderate at the high-level conference of the Institute of Law and Finance (ILF) at Goethe University on Monday 25 January. Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, will deliver the keynote address. EBA Chair Jose Manuel Campa, John Berrigan, Director General, DG FISMA, and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann as well as the CEOs of Deutsche Bank and Rabobank are among the top names on the speaker line-up. |
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FROM THE INSTITUTIONS this week
ECB issues supervisory guidance on consolidation among banks
The European Central Bank on Tuesday published its guide on how it plans to use its supervisory tools to facilitate sustainable consolidation among banks. The ECB encourages banks to engage with supervisors early on and explain its expectations in a guide, which also benefited from banks’ input. Read the full guide EBA points to a further rise in capital and leverage ratios The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its quarterly Risk Dashboard together with the results of the Risk Assessment Questionnaire. The Q3 data shows a rise in capital ratios, and an improvement in the NPL ratio, while the return on equity (RoE) remained significantly below banks’ cost of equity. The Risk Dashboard includes, for the first time, data on moratoria and public guarantee schemes. Read more Lagarde defends ECB economic outlook even as banks cut forecasts The European Central Bank’s latest projections for economic growth in the euro area are still “very clearly plausible” despite the resurgent coronavirus and renewed lockdowns, President Christine Lagarde said. Read more |
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ABOUT THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe, with active members in 32 countries. 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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This newsletter is published by the EBF Mediacentre.
For questions or suggestions contact mediacentre@ebf.eu
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