Yves Mersch: Medium to long-term priorities of Capital Markets Union
(CMU) for the ECB/Eurosystem
Panel remarks by Mr Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central
Bank, at the Eurofi conference, Luxembourg, 10 September 2015.
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While the Green Paper has set the right overall objectives of CMU and identified priorities for
early action and the measures for the medium- to long-term, CMU needs to be pursued
through a higher level of ambition to achieve greater capital markets development and
deeper financial integration.
1. To bring about its expected benefits, the CMU should foster and result in a high level of
financial integration in capital markets across the EU based on an adequate legal and
regulatory framework. This would imply more steps towards greater harmonization of
1. bankruptcy law,
2. company law and
3. taxation of financial products
that pose great political challenges.
The aim is to ensure that investors have the same costs and equal access to finance
irrespective of where they are located in the EU. Ultimately, the supervisory architecture will
also warrant revision. The final destination in the path towards CMU will need to include the
development of a single rulebook. These elements are key if we are to attain what has been
ambitiously coined as CMU.
2. A schedule with clear milestones and deadlines in the upcoming action plan would
facilitate implementation.
3. Market-led initiatives to promote capital markets are important but insufficient. Therefore,
legislative action in targeted areas is warranted. While bold action towards the completion of
the single rulebook for capital markets will be beneficial, a gradual approach to
harmonization could be envisaged in those areas where political sensitivities prevent action
at EU level in the short term.
4. Sufficient attention should be devoted to safeguarding financial stability, such as in the
area of shadow banking.
5. A single rulebook for EU capital markets needs to be complemented with strengthened
supervisory convergence, delivering a common implementation and enforcement of rules.
6. Further reducing still existing fragmentation in financial market infrastructures should be at
the core of CMU. It needs to be recognized that banks will continue to play an important role
for the financing of the real economy and in providing access to capital markets.