BETTER FINANCE provided an initial feedback to the EC’s plans to create a system for accessing financial data (FIDA) to boost digital financial services by promoting competition. We suggest carefully considering the risks and benefits of opening up a financial data market using based on contractual, industry-led ‘schemes.’ FIDA proposes a change that would make
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the horizontal and vertical dimensions represented in the objectives of the taxonomy. Furthermore, we would like to suggest expanding the horizontal dimension based on the promotion of gender equality which should not be based only on the gender pay gap but also on freedom of expression, assembly, etc.
BETTER FINANCE believes that the European Commission should not further diminish the ambition of ESRS. At the very least, there should be a set of mandatory disclosure requirements (such as GHG emissions) irrespective of materiality assessments made by companies.
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the amendments to the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (Art 8) in providing consistent methodologies and economic performance indicators that ensure financial and non-financial undertakings disclose the relevant taxonomy eligibility and alignment information.
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the European Commission’s WHT FASTER Proposal that has to potential to bring procedural progress in addressing longstanding obstacles to tax recovery for investors dealing with their cross-border investment income. We applaud an EU-wide framework to streamline withholding tax (WHT) refund modalities under common reporting, and support its digitalisation addressing the current hurdle
BETTER FINANCE, as an independent financial expertise center serving European financial services users, represents millions of individual investors in Europe who stand to benefit from the draft non-financial reporting Standards developed by EFRAG. BETTER FINANCE welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Delegated Act (DA) by the European Commission concerning the European Sustainability
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the amendments to the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (Art 8) in providing consistent methodologies and economic performance indicators that ensure financial and non-financial undertakings disclose the relevant taxonomy eligibility and alignment information. In order to strengthen market transparency and encourage companies to green their activities and portfolios, it is crucial to have
BETTER FINANCE response to the European Commission’s request for feedback on the review of the Listing Act – making public capital markets more attractive for EU companies and facilitating access to capital for SMEs. BETTER FINANCE welcomes the stated objectives of the listing act review for prospectus standardisation and streamlined IPO cost reduction, particularly for
BETTER FINANCE welcomes the horizontal and vertical dimensions represented in the objectives of the taxonomy. Furthermore, we would like to suggest expanding the horizontal dimension based on the promotion of gender equality which should not be based only on the gender pay gap but also on freedom of expression, assembly, etc.
The European Commission has proposed a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence act) and amending certain union legislative acts. The purpose of this regulation is to provide a uniform legal framework for the internal market regarding the marketing and the use of Artificial intelligence (AI). BETTER FINANCE strongly supports the proposal
This document provides you with key information about this Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). It is not marketing material. The information is required by law to help you understand the nature, risks, costs, potential gains and losses of this personal pension product and to help you compare it with other PEPPs
The pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP) is a voluntary personal pension scheme that offers EU citizens a new option to save for retirement. The PEPP pension scheme is complementary to existing national pension regimes.
PEPP only called into question by finance industry due to high costs for intermediaries 22 September 2020 – The latest draft of the Pan-European Personal Pension (PEPP) delegated (level 2) regulation was up for discussion last Friday during a broad and well-attended conference on the issue of PEPP and Financial Repression organised by consumer organisations
Last Wednesday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a 750 billion asset-purchase programme in response to the coronavirus outbreak, causing a boost of the euro against the dollar and the pound. This new temporary asset purchase programme of private and public sector securities counters the serious risks to the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the offset
This document represents the stylised version of BETTER FINANCE’s response to the EIOPA Public Consultation on implementing measures (level 2) for the pan-European Personal Pension (PEPP) Regulation. The actual response template can be found here. Executive Summary General approach and review BETTER FINANCE welcomes the holistic approach adopted by EIOPA and agrees with the working
BETTER FINANCE’s member organisation (and experts) from the Slovak Institute of Savings and Investments have developped a Technical Working Paper on key aspects for the PEPP: how to estimate pension projections (for the PEPP KID and Benefit Statement) and how to design the PEPP Benefit Statement so that it is useful and attractive for savers.
BETTER FINANCE published its Position Paper on the implementing measures (level 2) for the Pan-European Personal Pension (PEPP) product. These measures will be based on the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) submitted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to the European Commission following a period of public consultations. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PEPP Key Information
This document provides you with key information about this pan-European Personal pension Product (PEPP). It is not a marketing material. The information is required by law to help you understand the nature, risks, costs, potential gains and losses of this personal pension product and help you compare it with other PEPPs. This is not a
The overall objective of the Pan-European Personal Pensions (PEPP) product is to offer pension savers a viable alternative that embeds appropriate risk-reward calibrations, that transparent and cost efficient and that provides decent real long-term returns for old age. In short, the PEPP should represent “a quality label for EU personal pension products and increase trust
For a decade, BETTER FINANCE has flagged the persistently low real returns in EU long-term and pension savings. As government and occupational pensions dwindle, Public Authorities urge earlier and increased savings for retirement. Yet, this advice often disregards a fundamental issue: inadequate, sometimes negative, long-term real returns after inflation. BETTER FINANCE reports disprove the claim
The recent ARTE documentary titled “The Future of our Pensions” explores how to make the EU pensions system more effective at providing adequate returns. This in-depth feature examines pension systems throughout the European Union and includes interviews with policymakers, scholars, stakeholders, and retirees to provide a comprehensive look at the current state of pensions in
The European Commission published a legislative proposal for a regulation on European green bonds, which is supposed to become the high quality voluntary European Green Bond Standard. Its intention is to use the potential of the single market for achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals in a more efficient way.
It is part of an initiative first mooted in the Commission’s September 2020 Capital Markets Union Action Plan and designed, among other things, to “increase consumer participation in capital markets.” The the level of retail investor participation in EU capital markets remains very low. The strategy is aimed to ease difficulties for retail investors in
Eurozone inflation mushroomed from 3.4% to 10% in one year, further deepening Europe’s cost-of-living crisis, yet the best the European Central Bank (ECB) could muster is a late and timid hike of interest rate from 0 to 0.75%. Financial repression policies in place since the crises of 2008 and 2009 are being tightened further in
For 10 years now BETTER FINANCE points to the often-poor real net returns of long-term and pension savings (see the 2022 Edition of the Real Return) across a large number of EU jurisdictions. It is getting worse, and while a couple of years of poor performances can be made up for, the same can’t be
Read the full article [in French] in ARCAF’s website Over the years, BETTER FINANCE has warned authorities and stakeholders of the risks at stakes for Pension plan savers (Pension Savings – The Real Return). Today, the French ‘Union Mutualiste Retraite’ (UMR) just sparked a new pension scandal by cutting the pensions paid to ‘Corem’ retirees.
On 25 September 2020, BETTER FINANCE released the eighth edition of its research report on the Real Return of Long-Term and Pension Savings. More than a month later, on 5 November, PensionsEurope (PE), the lobbyist for the European Pensions Industry, issued a press release levelling unwarranted and unsubstantiated criticism against the findings in the Bulgarian