MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew Europe, French) wrote a letter on Tuesday 14 March to the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, to express her opposition to the ban on broker inducements, foreseen in the European Commission's retail investment strategy (see EUROPE 13106/21).
According to its timetable, the institution is expected to present its strategy on Wednesday 3 May, as part of a package that also includes an improvement of the retail investment framework.
In her letter, which EUROPE has obtained, the MEP expressed concern that the ban “would have the contrary effect and will not promote a better participation for retail investments”.
“Access to advice is key when it comes to investing, as it is the gateway to investment for a significant proportion of investors”, she continued, highlighting “the risk of the creation of an advice and investment gap to the smallest investors”.
She also considered that “such a ban would be detrimental to fair competition and would favour non-EU industries, which would have a strong interest in replacing the existing model with an intermediary free scheme”.
Ms Yon-Courtin joined her colleague Markus Ferber (EPP, Germany), the industry (see EUROPE 13099/12) and the finance ministers of Germany, Austria (see EUROPE 13118/10) and France (see EUROPE 13121/4), who also wrote to Ms McGuinness to express their opposition.
The MEP met the Commissioner on Wednesday 15 March, in the margins of the European Parliament plenary, for a discussion with Renew Europe MEPs who sit on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). The latter said that she had received the letter addressed to her.
To read the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/5tg (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)