Debate: Amending Directive //EU as regards supervisory powers, sanctions, third-country branches, and environmental, social and governance risks - Amending Regulation  No  as regards requirements for credit risk, credit valuation adjustment risk, operational risk, market risk and the output floor
Date: WEDNESDAY, 24 APRIL 2024
Speaker: Mairead McGuinness
Language: EN

Thank you all for your contributions. This is a really serious debate and all of you who have contributed are very serious players in this Parliament, and your work reflects that. But, of course, the next step is to implement and certainly, from our point of view in the Commission, we are already working with the European Banking Authority on the many technical standards and measures required to see effective implementation. To the reference from my former colleague, Markus Ferber – just to recall that the Commission will continue to monitor the implementation of the final Basel III standards in other major jurisdictions, and in the area of market risk, the Commission is empowered to address level playing field issues by adopting delegated acts, if needed. On the overall framework, our long transitional arrangements and phasing provisions give us time to adapt to international developments. Beyond the current uncertainty on the international front, we are confident that the final elements of Basel III will be implemented globally. Just to note that the Basel Committee celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and it does continue to be instrumental for international cooperation on bank supervision and regulation – and it is in the interest of banks themselves that consistent rules are applied globally. It is in the European interest to finalise implementation of these international standards. Yes, it will require a lot of effort from banks, their supervisors and all related stakeholders. But one thing is very clear: Basel will be implemented. My thanks again to this House and in particular to Rapporteur Jonás Fernández and the shadow rapporteurs. Together we are providing regulatory stability to our banking system, ensuring its resilience and its continued ability to serve citizens and businesses. Looking ahead to the next mandate, I note and welcome that this House has just adopted its position on the review of the crisis management and deposit insurance framework. The CMDI reform will further preserve financial stability and protect taxpayers and depositors. It also takes due account of the specificities in the national banking sectors while maintaining a level playing field. I’m confident that an agreement on this reform early in the next mandate will open the way to completing the banking union, including a European deposit insurance scheme. After almost 10 years of stalemate on this topic, we are happy to see that the European Parliament is ready to move forward, while the Commission reserves its position at this stage. Ambitious reforms on banking union, as well as on capital markets union, will bolster the EU’s financial stability and competitiveness. I would issue a warning here that the status quo will not deliver for the Europe of the future. We need funding to invest in the green and digital transition, and, therefore, we need work on capital markets union and banking union. To quote the long-serving (25 years) First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Othmar Karas, ‘let us not play national interests against Europe. Let us be more decisive, more ambitious.’ I just recall that we had marked 30 years of the single market last year, and yet we have failed to deliver a single market for capital, which means that we have an opportunity – and let’s grasp that opportunity. I hope that voters ask questions about this. It is not a remote topic. It is about their very lives and livelihoods, and they should know what’s happening or, indeed, what’s not happening. So I thank you for this debate. I think we have done good work together, but, of course, we will have to implement. I can guarantee from the Commission’s perspective that we will implement faithfully and effectively.