The new Central Counterparties Supervisory Committee (CCP) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is taking shape. On Wednesday 2 September, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) heard Klaus Löber, the candidate selected to chair the committee, before a vote on his nomination, which is due to take place on 10 September.
Selected by the ESMA Board of Supervisors, Klaus Löber has 25 years of experience in the financial sector and is currently Head of the Oversight Division at the European Central Bank (ECB).
At the hearing, MEPs did not raise any major objections to his candidacy and he may well become the very first chairman of the CCP Supervisory Committee, the new supervisory body set up by the EMIR 2.2 Regulation (see EUROPE 12213/32), which will be composed of representatives of the competent authorities of Member States with an authorised central counterparty and some representatives of central banks of issue.
The candidate was mainly asked about the major challenges of the moment, namely the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
Asked by Danuta Hübner (EPP, Poland) about the committee’s role in strengthening the resilience of CCPs, Mr Löber stressed that the new structure aimed to enhance information exchange, effectiveness of actions, interaction and convergence of approaches within the EU, which is essential for a coherent approach to address gaps or strengthen the resilience of CCPs, he pointed out.
On the same day, MEPs also heard from the two independent members proposed to make up the committee, Nicoletta Giusto, currently Head of International Relations at the Italian stock exchange authority (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa - CONSOB) and Froukelien Wendt, Senior Financial Sector Expert at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Again, the skills of the candidates were widely recognised. Jonás Fernández (S&D, Spain) congratulated ESMA in particular for putting forward very competent candidates and for respecting gender balance, to which Parliament is very committed. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)