No 11 (March 98/Mars 98/Mrz 98)

FINANCIAL SERVICES

IN BRIEF Banks: Simplification of legislative framework

A proposal that would replace 19 banking Directives with a single Directive was adopted by the European Commission on 15 December. Once it has been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, this "banking code" will formally replace the seven basic Directives and 12 amending Directives which establish the Single Market for banking services, but without changing their substance. The proposal should be seen in the context of the simplification and transparency of Community law and complements the initiatives which the Commission is proposing to take to simplify banking legislation as part of the SLIM exercise (Simpler Legislation for the Single Market - see also SMN N10). "Replacing nineteen Directives by just one will make banking legislation far more practical, accessible and transparent for financial institutions and for users of their services", commented Commissioner Mario Monti. "But the Member States should also endeavour to simplify their national laws, since they impose an administrative burden for firms, far more onerous than Community legislation".

The proposal is now available via Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/dg15

For more information,
please contact
Luis Garcia Collados
DG XV/C-2
TEL: (+32 2) 295 89 47
FAX: (+32 2) 295 07 50

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