Commission meets key stakeholders of the banking sector in the context of its consultation on the Structural Reform of the Banking Sector
17/05/2013
Today the European Commission is hosting a meeting on Bank Structural Reform, in which financial industry, key actors of the real economy and representatives of the civil society will participate. This meeting will provide an opportunity to hear the views of a wide range of stakeholders on the key issues relating to this subject, which includes the scope of the reform and policy options.
This event follows the wider consultation on Structural Reform of the Banking Sector that the European Commission launched yesterday. The general objective of the reform is to ensure that the EU treats in a comprehensive manner the problems that can arise from banks being too big and too complex and to avoid that taxpayers end up having to rescue banks and pay the bill. In this context, structural reform may for the biggest and most complex banks be necessary in addition to the other adopted or on-going reforms in the banking sector. More generally, the aim is to establish a stable and efficient banking system that serves the needs of EU citizens and the economy, increases economic growth by reducing instability and improving resource allocation, and provides an EU-coordinated response to enhance the functioning of the internal market.
The consultation focuses on the key attributes of structural reform; i.e. the scope of activities, the strength of separation, and the possible institutional scope. It is open to all stakeholders. It will run until 3rd of July 2013.
In February 2012, the Commission established a High-level Expert Group (HLEG), chaired by Erkki Liikanen, to evaluate possible reforms to the structure of the EU’s banking sector (MEMO/12/129). The HLEG presented its final report to the Commission on October 2nd, 2012 (IP/12/1048). It concluded that the on-going reforms to strengthen Europe’s financial sector do not address all the underlying problems in the EU banking sector, as they do not fully correct incentives for excessive risk-taking, complexity, interconnectedness and intra-group subsidies. The group’s report accordingly states that reforming the structure of banks is necessary to complement the existing reforms.
Together with today’s meeting and with the recommendations of the HLEG, the results of the consultation together, will contribute to the Commission’s on-going Impact Assessment and help to devise a European framework for action to preserve the integrity of the single market. Proposals are envisaged for early autumn 2013.
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