Member States' ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) expressed their support on Friday 30 November for the key elements of the legislative package to reduce risks in the banking sector as negotiated with the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12144).
The Austrian Presidency of the EU Council noted support of "90% of the banking package ", a European source said.
Supporting the compromises reached at the last trilogue negotiating sessions with the Parliament is all the easier for Member States as the provisions at the heart of the compromise faithfully reflect the Council's position.
Such is the case for the following provisions: - the integration in the EU of the TLAC prudential standard; - ‘subordinated instruments’ that can be mobilised in the event of an internal bail-in of a defaulting banking group; - moratoria allowing essential banking activities to continue; - the balance of power between supervisors in the home country of a banking group and the host country of its subsidiaries ('home/host' regime); - the leverage ratio and the NSFR ratio aimed at ensuring that a bank holds sufficient stable assets over one year to cope with a downturn in the economy.
The Austrian Presidency therefore wants the ECOFIN Council to "endorse " the results of the interinstitutional negotiations on Tuesday 4 December, said a diplomat (see other news).
This political statement will allow eurozone finance ministers to announce the creation of a (‘backstop’) for the Single Resolution Fund, the financial arm of the resolution part of the banking union (see other news).
The approximation of positions between the Council and the Parliament had been facilitated by the fact that, earlier in the week, Parliament negotiators had accepted the Member States’ position.
Source of satisfaction for MEPs, the Parliament's positions on the proportional application of prudential rules, support for loans granted to SMEs and the fight against money laundering have been validated.
In particular, the co-legislating institutions have introduced a definition for “small and non-complex (financial) institutions" that will be subject to fewer reporting requirements, according to an Austrian document dated 27 November. The European Banking Authority (EBA) will be mandated to develop reporting standards that will reduce costs for these small banks by "at least 10%, ideally 20%".
On Tuesday, Austrian experts will meet again with Parliament representatives to try to finalise the elements of the legislative package still pending, including the provisions on ‘shadow banking’.
Objective: to enable the Member States to reach a final interinstitutional agreement on the legislative package at the Coreper meeting on Wednesday 19 December. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)