EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 17 April 2023

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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FROM THE MEDIA 

Reuters: ECB policymakers converging on 25-bps rate hike in May

European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers are converging on a 25 basis point interest rate hike in May, even if other options remain on the table, according to five sources with direct knowledge of the discussion heard by Reuters. Read more

CoinDesk: High hopes for EU’s MiCA with final vote imminent

According to CoinDesk, proponents of the EU Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation say it will have an effect beyond its limited scope. The hope is that it will also offer a wider halo of credibility to a sector that is sorely in need of it after a year of market turmoil. Read more

FT: UK chancellor to ‘look at’ raising deposit guarantees in wake of SVB

Britain’s chancellor said that his government needed to look at raising the level of protection for bank customers given the speed at which deposits fled Silicon Valley Bank last month. As reported by the Financial Times (FT), Hunt said one of the lessons of the recent banking turmoil was that banks could fail more rapidly than in the 2008 crisis. Read more

FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA for next week

Monday 17 April

• European Parliament plenary session (Strasbourg)

• EESC ‘Bank crisis management and deposit insurance scheme. A step towards the completion of the Banking Union’ hearing

• Deutsche Bundesbank, Joint Vienna Institute and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank ‘Banking supervision within the Basel framework’ course

• UCL ‘Five Times Faster — Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change’ event

 
Tuesday 18 April

• Council Financial Services Attachés

• Council Trade Policy Committee (Generalised System of Preferences)

• EESC ‘An economically sustainable’ event

• AFME ‘14th Annual Spanish Capital Markets Conference’

• ICMA/ESM ‘The potential of wholesale central bank digital currencies for capital markets’ joint-Conference

Wednesday 19 April

• Council Financial Services Attachés

• Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Direct Taxation)

• Council Working Party on Information Exchange and Data Protection

• EBA Board of Supervisors meeting

• Deutsche Bundesbank ‘Climate change and central banks — On-site inspections for ESG risks — A case study’ seminar

• IADI ‘Collaborative Crisis Management — enhancing cooperation among financial authorities in turbulent times’ webinar

• Cybersec Europe 2023 event

• EMAS ‘Climate risk assessments in the context of the EU Taxonomy’ webinar

• Bloomberg ‘New Economy Gateway Europe’ event

Thursday 20 April

• Council Financial Services Committee

• Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Indirect Taxation)

• Swedish Council presidency meeting of the Trade Policy Committee

• Bruegel ‘EU’s fight against (in-work) poverty: case for minimum living income’ event

• Cybersec Europe 2023 event

• Think2030 Dialogue Sweden ‘Navigating crisis through sustainability’ event

• CEPS ‘Harnessing high-quality data for climate resilience’ event

• ERA ‘Payment Systems and Services – Review of EU Rules and Beyond’ seminar

• VUB ‘The digital Euro: the end of privacy in payments?’ online event

• FT ‘How Can the Built Environment Drive Social and Environmental Value?’ webinar

• Bloomberg ‘New Economy Gateway Europe’ event

Friday 21 April

• Council Working Party of Financial Counsellors

• ERA ‘Payment Systems and Services – Review of EU Rules and Beyond’ seminar (Anni Mykkänen, EBF Senior Policy Adviser on Innovation & Payments speaking)

• GCLC "The future of energy markets : which role for competition policy in the current geopolitical context’ conference

• FT ‘What They Don't Teach You About Money’ webinar

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

FROM EBF MEMBERS

FBF: Latest Business Finance Figures

Despite the tightening of financing conditions, companies in France do not report any change in the willingness of banks to grant loans. According to the Banque de France and as reported by the French Banking Federation (FBF), 96% of SMEs obtained all or most of the investment loans requested. Read more (FR)

AEB: More than 4,700 seniors trained in digital skills 

Expertclick is a free training program in new technologies for the elderly developed by the Foundation of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB). Since 2018, more than 4,700 people over the age of 55 have been trained in digital skills at no cost. Read more (ES)

SBA: The topic of sustainable investing is incredibly dynamic

Marcel Rohner, Chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) discussed sustainability, greenwashing, a global CO2 tax, and the dangers of EU regulation. 'For us as banks, customer preferences must be the focus,' he says. Read more (DE)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ECB: Do non-banks need access to the lender of last resort? 

Are central bank tools effective in reaching non-banks with no access to lender-of-last-resort facilities? A paper by the European Central Bank (ECB) shows that funds with higher ex-ante shares of assets eligible for central bank purchases saw their performance improve and outflows decrease relative to otherwise similar funds. Read more

BIS: How central banks should face instability and fragmentation

In a speech published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, spoke about the European perspective on both risks of instability and fragmentation. Read more

ESMA: Guidelines on aspects of the MiFID II suitability requirements

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published translations of the guidelines on certain aspects of the MiFID II suitability requirements. Read more

FROM THE EBF  this week

EBF: European Credit Sector Associations call for removing payments from the scope of the Digital Identity Regulation

The European Credit Sector Associations commented on the European Commission’s proposal for a European Digital Identity (eIDAS 2.0) and called for removing from the scope of the Digital Identity Regulation the legal obligation to accept on a mandatory basis the use of the European Digital Identity Wallet for payments. Read more

New EBF Vacancies! Work with us!

Visit our Vacancies page to learn more about the opening positions at the EBF. Read more

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. The federation 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. Website: www.ebf.eu

European Banking Federation