Brussels, 29/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 September, the European Commission will announce a series of measures to be taken between now and 2017 to stimulate the availability of non-bank financing in the EU, a multifaceted initiative which goes by the name of Capital Markets Union (CMU).
In order to help businesses to access the capital markets, the measures under consideration include the revision of the 'prospectuses' directive in November 2015, to bring down the costs of raising capital on the markets. A legislative package to stimulate venture capital (e.g. the pan-European regime for funds of venture capital funds) will also be presented by the end of 2016.
Other measures will aim to facilitate investments in long-term infrastructures. The directive 'Solvency II', which will enter into force in early 2016 and which lays down prudential rules for the insurance sector, will be amended very early on in order to better calibrate the risks related to investments in infrastructure. The Commission will carry out a similar exercise to determine whether there is a need to make changes, in the same spirit, to the calibration of bank capital requirements.
Although they will not be foremost among its recipients, the banks will have a role to play in the CMU. On Wednesday, the Commission will unveil its initiative to relaunch the market for simple, transparent and standardised securitised financial products. According to the Commissioner for Financial Services, Jonathan Hill, the Commission is pursuing an approach which combines the “responsibility of issuers and investors, close supervision of the regulators and strict penalties in the event of infringements” (see EUROPE 11387). The level of own funds banks must hold when they convert their credit (mortgage, consumer) into financial securities responding to the criteria laid down in the future European legislation will be reviewed downwards.
Lastly, the action plan on the CMU lists measures designed to encourage individuals to save. In November, a Green Paper on retail and financial and insurance services will be presented, aiming to explore various options likely to increase competition on the markets in question on a cross-border basis. By 2016, the Commission will also consider whether there is any call for a European initiative to facilitate the creation of a pan-European pension funds market. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)