📰 EBF Morning Brief - Wednesday 26 May: ECB must keep money taps fully open as crisis not over

FROM THE MEDIA

Reuters: ECB must keep money taps fully open as crisis not over

The European Central Bank (ECB) rate-setters will review the pace of emergency bond purchases at their June 10 meeting against an improved economic backdrop. Growth and inoculation rates are rising in the bloc as COVID-19 cases fall. However, in an exclusive with Reuters, Yannis Stournaras, ECB policymaker, said the recovery remained fragile and, with no evidence to point to an era of high inflation in the foreseeable future, it is too early for the ECB to slow down emergency bond purchases. Read more

RTE: Are you ready for the digital euro?

Very shortly, the European Central Bank (ECB) will decide on the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). According to Christine Lagarde, the president of the ECB, the digital euro could be finished in about four years. So what is a digital euro, do we want it and what will it look like? While it looks like an online bank account in the design, it's best comparable to digital cash money, RTE reports. Read more

FT: Deutsche accelerates overhaul of corporate bank after Brexit

The Financial Times (FT) reports that Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, is relocating 100 bankers from London as it restructures its corporate bank following Brexit. A quarter of the division’s 400 UK staff are being made redundant, with their roles being transferred, the FT notes, to Dublin, Berlin, Frankfurt as well as cities across Asia. Read more (€)

MAIN EVENTS

European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs meeting (ECON)

European Banking Authority hearing on stress tests of deposit guarantee schemes

QED conference on cross-border regulation of financial services

Bruegel ‘Prospects for improving securities and financial reporting oversight in the EU’ event

Santander ‘International Banking Conference — Insight on Tourism’ event

Small Business Standards ‘SMEs as drivers of green growth: Turning challenges into opportunities with standards’ conference

EBF Banking Supervision Committee virtual meeting

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

FROM THE EBF MEMBERS

CBI: BREXIT: Association’s of Cyprus Banks FAQs for bank clients

The Association of Cyprus Banks (CBI) published frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address the concerns of the clients of Cypriot banks regarding BREXIT. Information deals with payments, investments, and how both UK citizens living in Cyprus and credit cardholders are affected by coming changes. Read more

FFI: Lea Mäntyniemi calls for quality and patience in law-making

Lea Mäntyniemi, Finance Finland’s (FFI) director of legislation, retired this May and in this interview, she discusses issues in current regulation and regulatory processes. She notes that the EU tends to fix a regulation’s implementation date too early in the process which does not leave enough time to prepare supplementary lower-level regulation. “New and complex regulation is being prepared on very tight schedules, including the sustainable finance package. When the entire package is complete, financial sector companies won’t have enough time to implement the required changes in their operations and systems”, Mäntyniemi comments. Read more

SBA: New bank tax threatens Sweden's recovery and climate ambitions

The government's new proposal for a bank tax would have negative consequences for Swedish jobs, Swedish growth and the competitiveness of Swedish banks. The tax will make it more expensive for companies and households to borrow money, thereby impairing recovery from the pandemic. "Higher financing costs will also make the climate investments necessary for Sweden to meet the Paris Agreement more expensive", says Hans Lindberg, CEO of the Swedish Bankers Association (SBA). Read more (SV)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ESMA: Launch of a call for evidence on digital finance

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a call for evidence on digital finance. It aims to gather relevant information on particular issues including value chains, platforms, and groups’ provision of financial and non-financial services. Feedbacks from all interested stakeholders are welcome until 1 August and they will contribute to ESMA’s technical advice to the European Commission. Read more

European Commission: Final report of the Technical Expert Stakeholder Group (TESG) on SMEs

Building on the new Capital Markets Union (CMU) action plan, the Technical Expert Stakeholder Group (TESG) on SMEs published a final report which pushes for a general commitment to make EU capital markets work for SMEs. To ensure that capital markets deliver benefits to European SMEs, a holistic stakeholder approach is needed: all members of the ecosystem, regulatory, taxation, and investment framework must act in unison to support listing by European SMEs. Read more

EPC: Public consultation on possible changes to the SEPA Request-to-Pay Scheme Rulebook

The European Payments Council (EPC) launched a 90-day public consultation on possible changes to the SEPA Request-to-Pay (SRTP) scheme rulebook. This 2021 three-month public consultation on possible modifications to the rulebook takes place from 25 May to 27 August 2021. All interested stakeholders are invited to participate in the public consultation by sending their feedback. Read more

FROM THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION

EBF Blueprint: recommendations for a fairer and more efficient EU tax framework

The European Banking Federation (EBF) last Thursday presented its blueprint with recommendations for a fairer and more efficient EU tax framework. Based on four priorities, the EBF has formulated 10 concrete policy recommendations. Read more

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