The three European supervisory authorities (ESAs) published, on Monday 29 June, their respective responses to the Commission's public consultation on its new Digital Finance Strategy for Europe scheduled for the autumn (see EUROPE 12512/14).
While supporting the Commission's guidelines, they stressed the need for a technology-neutral European framework and made some additional proposals.
When asked to detail the benefits of digitisation of the financial sector, the main ones cited were greater speed and efficiency in financial services. As for risks, the three ESAs mentioned operational incidents, data confidentiality or the financial exclusion of certain individuals.
ESMA. In its response, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stresses that “an EU-wide harmonised regulatory/supervisory framework is necessary to both allow innovative firms in the EU to reach the scale that they need and provide for the necessary safeguards to investor protection, financial stability and orderly markets”.
ESMA also indicates that initiatives on electronic identification for businesses, such as the eIDAS Regulation, can support the goal of removing fragmentation in the Single Market for digital financial services.
EBA. For its part, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has notably called for a “high-level AI principle-based framework” to serve as an appropriate foundation for its wider use in financial services. It also wants the Commission to support the expansion of the ‘RegTech’ and ‘SupTech’ initiatives.
The EBA further notes that the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could be clarified in certain cases to support innovation, in particular as regards the use of artificial intelligence in financial services.
EIOPA. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), for its part, stressed “that a sound approach to financial innovation should strike a balance between enhancing financial innovation and ensuring well-functioning consumer protection and financial stability frameworks”.
EIOPA has, among other things, advocated for a joint cyber incident reporting data framework.
See the responses of: - ESMA: https://bit.ly/2AfR0D4; - EBA: https://bit.ly/3dLR9f9; EIOPA: https://bit.ly/2YJjwpZ (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)