Amsterdam, 22/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Proportionality of the rules, increased mobilisation of the financing available and reducing the administrative burden are the three areas for action at European level to make the financial legislation more conducive to economic growth, according to the Commissioner for Financial Services, Jonathan Hill.
On the basis of responses to our consultation on the global impact of the financial legislation, “our initial analysis points to three main areas where we need to focus our attention”: the financial rules are “not always proportionate”, they sometimes limit the amount of financing available to the wider economy and the administrative barriers are too high for small businesses, the Commissioner said in Amsterdam on Thursday 21 April, at the conference of the think tank EUROFI, announcing a full evaluation by the summer.
The European Commission will look at how to simplify the banking prudential rules (CRR, CRD4) in order to reduce the requirements in terms of reporting for small banks and it will consider whether to exempt establishments with limited trading activities from certain capital requirements. Regarding the list of small financial institutions exempted from the CRR and CRD4 rules, Hill announced the drafting of “objective criteria” on the basis of which future exemptions can be decided. Additionally, the possibility of reducing own-funds requirements for more bank loans to SMEs will be looked into.
In the asset management sector, Hill described as “unacceptable” the situation faced by small fund managers struggling to extend their activities within the single market due to differing national regulatory requirements and additional costs incurred by crossing borders. A public consultation will be launched “in May” into the main obstacles to the cross-border operations of investment funds, the Commissioner said. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)