Having to comply with stricter regulatory capital requirements, banks are not lending out as much as they used to. Therefore potential alternative sources for badly needed investment in the real economy are being investigated. The most promising option on the table ‒ or at least the one that the EU regulators are now exploring ‒
Are you interested in what Jonathan Hill, Commissioner-designate for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, has to say during his hearing in the European Parliament? BETTER FINANCE certainly is. Parliamentary Committees will be "grilling" the Commissioners-to-be until October 7 2014. Jonathan Hill’s turn to answer questions is on Wednesday, October 1 2014, at the same time as
Even before taking inflation into account, Belgians now face negative returns on their savings due to very low interest rates and high banking costs. According to recent calculations by “L’Echo”, a Belgian daily, this has led to negative interest rates ranging between -0,02% and -1,60%. The four largest banks of the country, BNP Paribas Fortis,
Even though progress was made following the financial crisis and it has since been widely recognized that banks across Europe should no longer be able to rely on tax payers’ money to protect them from the consequences of their risky behaviour, the European Commission’s latest proposal took many by surprise. The proposal suggests that the
EC Consultation on tax problems faced by EU citizens when active across borders within the EU The European Commission launched a consultation on tax problems faced by EU citizens when active across borders within the EU. The consultation is aimed at discussing ways to simplify tax compliance in cross-border situations. The deadline to submit contributions is
Speaking at the EIOPA Conference on Personal Pensions in Bratislava, Gabriel Bernardino, Chair of EIOPA, said that the plans to create a single market for personal pensions should not be seen as undermining the second-pillar system. Demonstrating the importance of the plan to create a European-wide single market to the benefit of citizens, providers and the Union, Bernardino
Guillaume Prache, outgoing Chair of the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG), and Managing Director at BETTER FINANCE, did not re-apply for the election of the SMSG chair. He explained why at the 29 January 2014 SMSG meeting in Paris. Please read Guillaume Prache’s communication here.
In contrast to their peers in other countries, Dutch pension funds registered a positive performance in 2012, achieving the highest returns against the lowest costs. Canadian benchmarking firm CEM said that Dutch schemes, representing almost 6m participants and more than €600 billion of assets, reported returns of 14,3% on average over the period, while pension
On Tuesday evening the the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers reached an agreement on MiFID II. Overall EuroFinUse welcomes the agreement and will continue its active involvement and hard work throughout the remaining process, with special attention for the upcoming level 2 legislation, to ensure the best possible outcome for end users of financial products. MiFID II constitutes
On December 17, the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted on the draft EU legislation on bank resolution and the creation of a single mechanism for said banking resolution. The Parliament’s negotiation position on the single resolution mechanism for banks establishes a system aimed to be the central pillar of the European Union’s