EBF WEEKLY + FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA
for the week starting Monday 29 January 2024

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

Bloomberg: ECB’s Lane sees profits important for inflation path

European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Economist Philip Lane said corporate profitability, as well as rising wages, will help shape the path for consumer prices this year. Firms, though, may be inclined to shift at least some of the burden of higher costs onto their customers, according to a study by EY seen by Bloomberg. Read more

Risk.net: Basel’s cherry-picking toughens IRRBB shock scenarios

Bank treasurers are worried a supposedly minor redesign to supervisory tools used for gauging the interest rate risk in deposit and loan books could turn into a major headache. According to Risk.net, European banks want higher outlier thresholds to offset higher confidence levels in the new standard. Read more

Finextra: Businesses measure the benefit of open banking payments

Businesses that use open banking for payments report an average annual saving of 150 hours usually spent on operational tasks, new research from NatWest reveals. The report also unearthed the barriers preventing businesses from implementing open banking with almost half having concerns about cybersecurity risks, Finextra reports. Read more

FINANCIAL REGULATION AGENDA for next week

Monday 5 February

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union

Council Working Party on the Environment

Joint meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Tuesday 6 February

Council Working Party of Financial Counsellors

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union

Council Working Party on the Environment

Polish Central Bank Monetary Policy Council

EIB Chief Economists Advisory Group

Deutsche Bundesbank ‘Macroeconomic analysis and forecasting’ course

Wednesday 7 February

Council Working Party on Tax Questions (High Level)

Council Working Party on the Environment

Council Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues

European Commission ‘Single market’ research conference

EIB Group Forum 2024

ESMA ‘Articles on methodology for climate risk stress testing and analysis of the financial impact of greenwashing controversies’ webinar

Thursday 8 February

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union

Council Working Party on the Environment

EIB Group Forum 2024 (Wim Mijs, EBF CEO, speaking)

Bruegel ‘Exploring economic dynamics: conversation with Pierre Wunsch’ event

ECSO ‘Navigating 2024: A Quarterly Discussion on the European Cybersecurity Market Trends’ event

Friday 9 February

Council Working Party on Financial Services and the Banking Union

Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Indirect Taxation)

Council Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues

FROM EBF MEMBERS

FBF: Reviewing ungranted real estate loans

Given the sensitivity of the housing market, the banking industry is proposing to temporarily review the system for ungranted real estate loans to ensure a better understanding of any home loans not granted to customers. The French Banking Federation (FBF) points out that each bank determines the methods of informing customers. Read more (FR)

BPFI: ​​Latest figures from FraudSMART​​

Figures from FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), issue warning following a recent spike in sophisticated investment fraud using the names and branding of well-recognized banks and investment firms. Read more

Finance Norway: Nordics and Baltics agree on EU proposals

Finance Norway has joined forces with the banking associations in the Nordic and Baltic countries to clarify priorities for the upcoming EU election. Effective and competitive financing solutions are prerequisites to face the challenges of the future. Read more (NO)

FROM THE INSTITUTIONS

ECB: Euro area bank interest rate statistics: December 2023

The European Central Bank (ECB) published the Euro area bank interest rate statistics for December 2023. Among the findings, it is noted that the composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to corporations, remained broadly unchanged in December 2023. Read more

ESMA: Data for quarterly bond liquidity assessment, the systematic internaliser calculations, and the CTP calculations

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the new quarterly liquidity assessment of bonds, the data for the quarterly systematic internaliser calculations for equity, equity-like instruments, bonds, and other non-equity instruments and the consolidated tape provider (CTP) under MiFID II and MiFIR. Read more

ESAs: Enhance the monitoring of BigTechs’ financial services activities

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a Report setting out the results of a stocktake of BigTech direct financial services provision in the EU. The Report identifies the types of financial services currently carried out by BigTechs and highlights inherent opportunities, risks, and regulatory and supervisory challenges. Read more

FROM THE EBF

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