Brussels, 25/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - Keen to set the example in their national political authorities, the French banks are proposing to their European counterparts five principles to be observed in banking operations involving an entity located in an uncooperative country featured in the specific OECD list. These principles are: - transparency regarding establishment: every year, the banks would have to send the supervisory authority a summary of its establishments in uncooperative countries and describing the principle activities carried out; - specific governance for the less cooperative countries: for countries included on a list of the less cooperative regimes, the board of governors or supervisory board of a bank would have three months to create a mechanism for the restriction of activities which could lead to the total cessation of these; - extension of the internal control mechanisms applicable within the European Union; - proactivity in international cooperation, particularly when drafting rules at international level.
The French banking federation (FBF) has based its proposals on four observations. Firstly, the potential impact is global and requires the mobilisation of the whole international community. It focuses on the fight against money laundering and the funding of terrorism, tax fraud and insufficient regulation and supervision of the instruments, markets and institutions of systemic importance. The FBF takes the view that the implementation of these proposals is first and foremost a matter for the states themselves, which must agree on new international rules. It also pleads in favour of the transparent and multilateral creation of lists of uncooperative countries. Last week, Luxembourg and the United States signed an agreement in line with international OECD standards on the exchange of information on request, in all fiscal fields. (M.B./transl.fl)