The European Institutions have made integration of financial services a major goal for the next decade. The financial crisis has accelerated projects to reform oversight of the financial markets both at the European and global levels. The securities (MiFID directive, rating agencies) and investment funds sectors (OPCVM, hedge funds) are specifically targeted by the upcoming reforms. The Commission and the European Central Bank are also doing a great deal to integrate market infrastructure (TARGET2 Securities). The recasting of financial services oversight and of solvency rules for banks and insurance companies, decreed in the wake of the financial crisis, also make keeping an upstream watch on these major regulatory changes essential.

Integration is also moving forward in the retail banking industry. In addition to the directive on consumer loans, the European Commission is taking an interest in the mortgage market, in credit intermediaries, in the mobility of bank accounts, in the financial education of consumers and, more generally, in the protection of consumers and investors in financial services. The implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for payment services is backed by a study of new payment methods.

The willingness to complete the creation of the internal market for financial services, the emergence of new products and services, the flourishing of mergers and acquisitions, the arrival of new technologies, and consumer protection policy in Europe, all justify close monitoring of the directions taken by the Commission and the European Parliament.

Contact

Thibault Maillet, Marc Jamet & Mathilde Serrault