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The Netherlands and Denmark have the best pensions systems in the world, according to a global study by Mercer. The survey examined 37 nations using 40 metrics to assess whether a system leads to adequate income replacement for retirees, whether it is sustainable and whether it has the trust and confidence of the community. According

On 9 December 2016 the EU presidency and the EU Parliament agreed on the final version of the new Shareholders Rights Directive (SRD). BETTER FINANCE welcomes the completion of the new SRD which took years to finalise. This final version provides limited improvements in shareholders rights, in particular in the critical areas of shareholder identification

On 9 December 2016 the EU presidency and the EU Parliament agreed on the final version of the new Shareholders Rights Directive (SRD). Better Finance welcomes the completion of the new SRD which took years to finalise. This final version provides limited improvements in shareholders rights, in particular in the critical areas of shareholder identification

A report by Bruegel on transparency in the European Banking Union, based on a survey carried out in 2013, has recently been revisited by its authors, analysing the most recent evolution in terms of banking supervisory transparency. The updated report concludes that financial supervisory data transparency at the EU level has gradually improved but does

On Monday 21 October, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the renewal of its Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG). According to the EBA, this group has the role of facilitating consultation and dialogue with stakeholders in all the areas relevant to the tasks of the EBA. EBA is an independent European Union Authority which works to

A report by Bruegel on transparency in the European Banking Union, based on a survey carried out in 2013, has recently been revisited by its authors, analysing the most recent evolution in terms of banking supervisory transparency. The updated report concludes that financial supervisory data transparency at the EU level has gradually improved but does

Aimed at certifying the most virtuous funds, the SRI label, which has just been reformed by the government, now excludes companies with new oil projects. Guillaume Prache denounces an ideological reform that risks favoring foreign oil and gas companies. The reform of France’s SRI (socially responsible investment) label, as announced by the French Ministry of

[A provisional version of the publication was available in January 2024. The document has been updated to the final March 2024 version] The report by CFA Institute and BETTER FINANCE critically reviews the EU’s listing rules, targeting reforms to improve public market accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It aims to foster debate amidst

BETTER FINANCE members UK Shareholders’ Association and ShareSoc (UK Individual Shareholders Society) published a letter expressing disappointment in the news that the UK government is abandoning some of its reforms to accounting standards: It is difficult to overstate the disappointment of investors, and other users of corporate information, at the news that the UK government

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.

There is a growing wave of ESG regulation and an increasing need for ESG reporting – nationally, regionally and internationally. In Europe, ESG rating and data providers are indicative of an immature but growing market, which has seen the emergence of a small number of large non-EU headquartered providers.

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) created the International Sustainability Standards Board “to provide the global financial markets with high-quality disclosures on climate and other sustainability issues.” As part of its work, the ISSB published two exposure drafts on climate-related disclosures and geenral requirements for disclosure of sustainbility-related financial information.

The Corporate Sustainbility Reporting Directive mandates for the creation of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which require companies in scope to report on a full range of sustainbility information (environmental, social and governance). EFRAG is expected to deliver its final draft ESRS to the European Commission in November 2022. The standards are aimed at ensuring

The Banking Union initiative has reduced the number and magnitude of bank failures and the recourse to taxpayers’ money. However, up to now, it has been focused on prudential objectives, not on citizens as banking users’ protection. This has too often generated significant detriment to consumers of banking services.

Yesterday, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its report on high earners for 2017, available for the first time in a user-friendly format on the remuneration of “staff whose professional activities have a material impact on” the risk profile of the financial institution. The Capital Requirements Directive (CRD IV) sets out principles for sound

Today, the European Commission has reported on the latest developments in risk reduction in the EU banking sector, as well as the progress towards an even more integrated and stable EU financial system. As outlined by the Commission, the risk reduction in the EU banking sector is continuing at a sustained pace, while financial stability

The effects of the 2008 financial crisis were supported by European citizens in their double quality as depositors and taxpayers. The overhaul of the banking sector (see article here) put mechanisms for prudential oversight and crisis resolution in place. Just one piece of legislation remains to be added to the European Single Rulebook: the European

To achieve a fully-fledged Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the E.U. must complete the Banking Union (BU) based on a harmonised, risk-sharing banking services sector. The last step remaining is the establishment of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS, see here). A complete overhaul of the field is hard to obtain since a system  resilient

Largely ignored, Slovenian investors suffer the consequences of the harshest bank rescue to date… The actual implementation of bail-in rules in the case of the Slovenian banks is hitting non-insider retail investors really hard, and does not give them a fair shot at recovering their damages three years after their savings in those banks’ subordinated

Explanations A differential pricing mechanism in insurance contracts describes a practice by which an insurance company adapts the cost or price of the product/service on considerations other than the expected risk premia or estimated expenses. Put simply, prices will reflect how proactive or passive a client is (shop around or not) rather than the risk

There has been considerable progress on both supervisory convergence and the single rulebook since the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) were created in 2011. Nevertheless, both require continued and appropriately targeted efforts to make further progress. To this end, the Commission’s capital markets union (CMU) action plan published on 24 September 2020, requires the European

BETTER FINANCE welcomes the the use of specific templates to standardise the disclosures of ESG information. We consider that to be comparable, the information disclosed  must reach the highest degree of standardisation at cross-sectoral levels and standardisation concerns not only the type of information to be included, but also the order flow and format; in

Back in November 2017 we formed an Alliance to voice our disappointment with the European Commission’s proposal for the review of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), and to make proposals to remedy the situation. The Alliance reiterated its main concerns in a joint statement in July 2018, following the report on the review by the

In a letter to the European Commission’s Directorate General in charge of Financial Stability, Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) dated 20 June 2020, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) informed that one of their respective Supervisory Boards did not approve the draft level 2 regulatory technical standards  (RTS) for the Delegated Regulation on key

Brussels, 31 July 2020 – In a letter to the European Commission’s Directorate General in charge of Financial Stability, Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) dated 20 June 2020, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) informed that one of their respective Supervisory Boards did not approve the draft level 2 regulatory technical standards  (RTS) for

It is with surprise that BETTER FINANCE and its member organisations representing financial services users read the headline on 18 June 2020 that Wirecard AG (“WD”), one of Europe’s FinTech success stories, may have mis-reported €1.9 billion in its balance sheets, filling for insolvency a few days later.

The draft Regulation on ESG ratings proposed by the European Commission in June 2023 aims to establish a framework and tackle structural issues by combating possible conflicts of interests, imposing better transparency in the rating processes, and introducing an authorisation and supervision system for ESG rating providers (for both EU and non-EU entities). Although commendable,

Transparency Task Force is holding an online event, to draw attention to the collective redress action by Stichting Investor Loss Compensation (SILC) for individual Airbus investors who have incurred damages, and to discuss the “Power of Class Actions to get Justice”. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 4th, between 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM

Transparency Task Force will hold a webinar about financial reporting, covering themes such as “Get real about financial reporting” and “The Financialisaton of Financial Reporting”. Stakeholders and experts will talk about “smoke and mirrors” and “conjuring tricks” and “insurance companies trading insolvent” and “Solvency 2 reforms”, amongst others. Addressing the inadequacies of financial reporting, the

Retail trading must be simple, transparent, cost-efficient, and done in the best possible conditions for individual, non-professional (“retail”) investors. To achieve this, BETTER FINANCE puts forward a series of recommendations in relation to best execution of retail orders and payments for order flows (PFOF or, more adequately PFROF: Payment for retail order flow). Payments for

Although SPACs – Special Purpose Acquisition Companies – have existed for quite some time, their sudden popularity over the last few years has drawn the attention of investors and regulators alike. In their latest joint report, BETTER FINANCE and CFA Institute shed light on the debate around SPACs also known as “blank cheques companies”. Based

The objective of this project is to understand the perceived experience of market participants with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), including investment professionals as well as the recipients of financial services and products (i.e., retail investors). The study presents professional and retail investors’ views on the main issues that pertain to SPAC vehicles: transparency and

BETTER FINANCE continues to express deep concern about the unwanted “side-effects” of the MiFID 2 regulatory framework on “lit” equity trading in the EU. Below is the summary response to the ESMA Public Consultation on the review of the MiFID 2 and MiFIR transparency regime for equity and equity-like instruments, the double volume cap mechanism

The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has had an unintended knock-on effect on the assessment of the transparency of financial products, causing a disagreement between the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Whereas ESMA is required to provide an assessment of the compliance of certain financial products with transparency obligations on a yearly

The Transparency Task Force (TTF) undertakes a broad range of activities to raise awareness of the lack of transparency in financial services.TTF is an associate member of BETTER FINANCE.

As we’ve emphasized in the past, BETTER FINANCE believes that the concept of sustainable finance should translate into products that are exemplary in complying with EU investor protection rules (especially in terms of transparency on performance). BETTER FINANCE is pleased to see that an emerging trend in socially-responsible investors wanting to make sound financial decisions