The hearing at the European Parliament on Monday 9 October of the chairs of the European financial supervisory authorities (ESAs) - ESMA for the financial markets, the EBA for the banking sector and EIOPA for the insurance sector - unsurprisingly focused on the revision of their competences, governance and financing proposed by the European Commission on 20 September (see EUROPE 11866).
Andrea Enria, the Chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), welcomed the revision, but stressed its “delicate” nature as it will have to be approved by the three committees of the authorities at the same time and that adjustments will be needed. Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), voiced his hopes that the tabled revision would be used by Parliament to ensure the independence of the ESAs and that they would take their responsibilities – whereupon Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, Italy) undertook, on the behalf of the committee on economic and monetary affairs of which he is the chair, to “do his best”.
Burkhard Balz (EPP, Germany) said that ESMA was the big winner of this revision, as it will be given new direct supervisory competencies as well as broader access to data. Stressing the need for strong sectorial experience in each sector, rather than just the financial markets, he asked the chairs of the other two authorities if there was a risk of interference with their competencies from a reinforced mandate for asthma.
Enria, who anticipates no conflict on the grounds of ESMA's mandate, said that this is justified due to the “different register” at which the authorities operate. This was echoed by Bernadino, who said that in the field of insurance, where no union has as yet been set in place, EIOPA alone can make a truly European voice heard.
Pervenche Berès (S&D, France) asked the three presidents about the powers they do not currently have to fulfil their remits. The EIOPA Chairman said that his authority lacks a stronger mandate in terms of supervision of cross-border activities. He called for more intrusive intervention in the event of anomalies on the market. Steven Maijoor, the Chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), called for great emphasis on supervisory convergence competencies.
Resources and Brexit under discussion
Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium) expressed concern at the ESAs' state of preparedness for the forthcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and, in particular, the financial resources available to them to deal with this situation.
“If we want a reliable assessment of Brexit-related risks, we will need resources”, Maijoor confirmed, acknowledging that ESMA had had to abandon certain tasks to focus fully on Brexit. With regard to this, he said that the Commission's proposal was a step in the right direction and described its figures as satisfactory. Conversely, the EIOPA Chairman said that the proposed resources would not be enough to properly monitor the regulatory framework and equivalence decisions of third-country rules with those of the EU.
Enria highlighted the “particular pressure” on the EBA as a result of the prospect of Brexit, as it must soon relocate from its current base in London to one of the eight candidate cities (Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Prague, Paris, Warsaw and Vienna (see EUROPE 11874)). He called upon the member states to take a decision on this matter as soon as possible. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)