About: Banks

Digital Transformation in Financial Services – 2015 EBF Annual Conference

European Bankers and policymakers met at the 2015 European Banking Federation’s Annual Conference to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the digital transformation in financial services.

Banks as tax collectors? EBF-FBF Tax conference reviews FTT, CRS

The 2014 international tax conference of the European Banking Federation, held on Monday in Paris, has reviewed Sunday’s endorsement by G20 Finance Ministers of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) proposed as a model for a global Automatic Exchange of Information. http://www.ebf-fbe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/EBF_010514-EBF-Tax-Conference-reviews-progress-on-Common-Reporting-Standards.pdf The conference was an opportunity for the EBF to express its concerns about the CRS: its lack of proportionality, the crucial need for consistency across jurisdictions and for full EU-OECD alignment, the need for a proper examination of all legal and constitutional implications, notably in the field of data protection, and the need for the immediate creation of a review process. The CRS model will require financial institutions to automatically exchange detailed account information with tax authorities in their country. In addition the conference discussed the impact of a possible tax on financial transactions, known as FTT. This tax threatens to introduce regulatory and tax uncertainty in the 11 EU Member States that are currently considering it and risks damaging economic growth in Europe as whole.

EBF urges EU to preserve universal banking model

In this EURACTIV video statement, Guido Ravoet, Chief Executive of the European Banking Federation, outlines the federation’s view on the plans for structural reform that the European Commission has proposed at the beginning of this year and urges the EU to preserve the universal banking model. You can learn more about the EBF position on structural reform by visiting http://bit.ly/EBF-structuralreform.

Commission proposes new rules to stop banks’ risky trading

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday new rules to stop the biggest and most complex banks from engaging in the risky activity of proprietary trading.

Banks for Growth – Conference Highlights

 

Eurogroup to agree Cyprus bailout by end of March

Eurozone finance ministers pledged on Monday to agree a bailout for Cyprus by the end of March. The total bailout could be up to €17 billion. The Eurogroup said that while Europe is ready to help the island, details on how the potential rescue will be financed are yet to be worked out.

Banks for Growth – Save the Date

A statement by the European Banking Federation. Join us for the first EBF Annual Conference, dedicated to the role banks play in sustaining the European economy and supporting growth.

EC presents plan for crisis banks

The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a new proposal that will protect taxpayers from banks that go bust. Under the new draft legislation, shareholders and creditors would be forced to accept losses of troubled-banks instead of using public-funded bailouts. The new plan also allows member states to take control of crisis-hit banks and replace the management. Each institution would also have to create a special fund dedicated specifically for potential future crises.

Spain denies bailout talks

Is Spain next in line for a Greek style bail-out? Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos does't think so, at least not for the moment. Spain is at the center of a financial storm as markets pushed the cost of its bonds to soar above 6%. In a bid to calm the markets and keep Brussels happy, the Spanish government on Tuesday announced a 10 billion euro slash in its public spending. The European commission welcomed the move, which comes on top of 78 billion euros in cuts presented in March.

Merkel: We’re buying time for other countries

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said that she can not rule out letting a eurozone country default on its debts. Merkel said that this is a possibility to consider once the Eurozone has a permanent rescue fund in place. In a one-hour interview with ARD television, Merkel said a permanent rescue fund is necessary to prevent crisis in countries such as Greece from spilling over to other countries that use the euro as their currency.