Brussels, 16/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - At a US-EU Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue in Washington on Monday 12 January, the United States backed the EU work to establish a Capital Markets Union.
At the dialogue, the EU delegation (representatives of the European Commission and the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA)) presented an overview of work at EU level to facilitate access to non-bank finance. In a joint statement published on Thursday 15 January, the US Treasury welcomed the work to form a “more resilient and integrated Single Market.”
Finance from banks and the markets forms respectively three-quarters and one quarter of financing of the real economy. The proportions are reversed in the United States.
Early next month, the European Commission will publish a Green Paper focusing on reviving high-quality securitised products markets. In this connection, the participants at the dialogue discussed a consultation paper published by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on criteria for identifyng simple, transparent and comparable securitised products. Securitisation enables banks to transfer to investors some of the risk connected with loans to companies and individuals. The idea is that by reducing their own capital requirements in this way, banks would be able to lend more to the real economy.
CCP. The transatlantic partners pledged to act together to strike an agreement on equivalent prudential rules for central counterparties (CCPs) in the derivatives market and hope agreement will be reached by the middle of June this year (see EUROPE 11216). They stressed the importance of establishing “clear and credible strategies” for CCP restructuring and resolution. The European Commission is expected to publish legislation in this connection during Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill's term of office. (MB)