Brussels, 03/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - Neither the financial industry nor institutional actors want financial market control matters to stay the same. Improvement of the system in place as part of the “Lamfalussy” process, which sets out the methodology for elaborating and implementing European legislation for financial services, should be done in stages. This is because Europe is not ready for a great leap forward, which may involve the creation of a European financial market monitoring body. It is especially at level 3 of the “Lamfalussy” process (European committees of national regulations in the banking sector (CEBS) and securities (CERVM) and insurance (CEIPS)) that progress can be carried out. On Tuesday 4 December, European finance ministers will also adopt conclusions establishing a road map to reform the European system for monitoring the financial markets.
During the annual conference of the French think tank, EUROFI, on Monday 3 December, Michel Pébereau, the president of BNP Paribas, said that they were not suggesting “revolution, such as the creation of a single European financial market monitoring committee”. He called for an opportunity to give the “control leader” more responsibility at the national college of regulators in charge of monitoring financial bodies throughout the EU. He also envisaged the setting up of federal agencies as bodies that develop from European level 3 committees. Edmond Alphandéry, the president of CNP Insurance, even suggested the appointment of a “committee of wise men by the European Council”, which would be in charge of proposing institutional developments in order to promote European integration of inspections of financial actors. This idea did not really convince Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, the acting president of the Ecofin Council, who declared, “I am not really against but perhaps not all problems can be resolved through such a solution”.
According to Jörgen Holmquist, the Director General of the internal market at the European Commission said that if they “proceeded to an inter-institutional change” in an effort to enhance convergence in controls it would be doomed to failure and lead to a risks of institutional paralysis. He mentioned ways for improvements that were focused on level 3 committees that the Commission evoked in its recent communication (EUROPE 9548). Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, the Italian minister of finance, said that the Ecofin Council should request the Commission and the different working committees to obtain the two following results in 2008: implementation of a single manual for control rules applicable by all financial institutions and a “European integrated approach in the supervision of financial actors” based on the sharing of information and increased cooperation between national regulators. In agreements with Padoa-Schioppa, the president of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet said that the “Lamfalussy” process constituted the inter-institutional framework adapted to move forward in this area. The presidents of the three European committees of the national committees presented their instruments, such as the updating of training programmes for helping develop a European culture in the area of financial actor supervision. (M.B.)