Half a year has passed by since the first mentions of Capital Markets Union (CMU) appeared, but to this day the architecture of the CMU is – to put it mildly – rather hazy. But even if we remain in the dark as regards the elements to shape the CMU, at least we are slowly learning what is not going to be there.
Olivier Guersent, Deputy Director of DG FISMA (European Commission) said: “The European Union's plan to build a capital market union (CMU) will not include a super-regulator for markets in the same way the European Central Bank now supervises top eurozone lenders.”
“Of course at some point in time in the development of capital markets in Europe, supervisory issues will pop up. Frankly, we are far from this point,” he added.
The next steps ahead include Commissioner Hill drafting a paper on the CMU, collecting input from banks, lawmakers and non-governmental organisations and issuing a roadmap. Guersent explained that 80% of the CMU was in fact about finalizing securities reforms dating back to 1999. “If we do everything quickly and right, we may have the first result in three years on the ground, most probably five,” he said.