International Women’s Day is a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights. Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all. To get us there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made. This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” and it celebrates the tremendous efforts made by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic while also highlighting the gaps that remain. Continue reading…

The disruption created by technological progress in the market for financial services arises from (i) an expanded set of services offered to consumers; (ii) the processes and distributional channels followed by firms in offering those services; and (iii) the arrival of new (technological) suppliers of those services. These developments are bound to generate profound changes in the market structure, as non-bank fintech players are now becoming very active in offering services that in the past were predominantly offered by banks. Their presence in the payment service area is already quite significant. However, they are also gaining weight in the provision of wealth management services, the sale of insurance products and loan underwriting. Those services are increasingly being provided within established technology platforms run by large companies (big techs), where a variety of financial and non-financial products are offered by a plurality of suppliers that may or may not be linked to the platform owner. A growing number of products and players increases supply, lowers the cost of financial services and encourages financial inclusion. However, it may also generate risks for the stability and adequate functioning of the financial system. Continue reading…

Dr. Jens Weidmann, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, recently gave a speech at the ILF Online-Conference on “Green Banking and Green Central Banking: What are the right concepts?” at the Goethe University Frankfurt on 25 January 2021. Ladies and gentlemen, I would have been only too happy to meet you all in person. Even more so, as from my office it would only have been a short walk to the campus of the Goethe University. And allow me the following side remark: There can hardly be a better person to name a university after than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe combined many disciplines and subjects, and not just as a poet, dramatist, novelist and critic. He also conducted research in various natural sciences, studying minerals, plants, human anatomy and meteorology, to name a few. And let’s not forget that he reflected on the nature of money, even serving as finance minister in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, a small, former state in what is now Thuringia. Goethe seems to be a true all-rounder, able to turn his hand to any number of things. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) recently published a report that examines the potential implications of climate change for financial stability. The report analyses how climate-related risks might be transmitted across, and might be amplified by, the financial system, including across borders. It also sets out next steps for the FSB’s work in this area. Current central estimates of the impact of physical risks on asset prices appear relatively contained but may be subject to considerable tail risk. The manifestation of physical risks could lead to a sharp fall in asset prices and increase in uncertainty. A disorderly transition to a low carbon economy could also have a destabilising effect on the financial system. Continue reading…

The Commission recently proposed an update to the Council Recommendation of last October coordinating measures affecting free movement in the European Union. This is part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure better coordination and communication of travel-related measures at EU level. In light of new coronavirus variants and high numbers of new infections across many Member States, it is necessary to strongly discourage non-essential travel, while avoiding border closures or blanket travel bans and ensuring that the functioning of the Single Market and supply chains remain uninterrupted. Therefore, further targeted action to ensure a coordinated approach on measures restricting free movement within the EU is necessary. Continue reading…

The European Commission has fined Valve, owner of the online PC gaming platform “Steam”, and the five publishers Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax € 7.8 million for breaching EU antitrust rules. Valve and the publishers restricted cross-border sales of certain PC video games on the basis of the geographical location of users within the European Economic Area (‘EEA’), entering into, the so called “geo-blocking” practices. The fines for the publishers, totalling over €6 million, were reduced due to the companies’ cooperation with the Commission. Valve chose not to cooperate with the Commission and was fined over €1.6 million.
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by Dina-Perla Portnaar

Risk, governance and compliance in the financial sector remain our flagship. Banking and finance has been part of our DNA for many years. The publisher of the Risk & Compliance Platform Europe, Michel Klompmaker, used to be the publisher of a title – literally – called Banking & Finance. On top of that, the Risk & Compliance Platform Europe has a community of excellent relations with many leaders, top decision makers, professionals and regulators in the financial world. Also, in the past sixteen years, the domains in which I worked the most have been IT/tech and finance. With that said, some of our readers aren’t aware of the fact that the Risk & Compliance Platform Europe has a global community in all sorts of verticals. It focuses on risk and integrity in a broader sense – healthcare, export, logistics, customs, property and housing associations, entrepreneurship, government, managing consulting, social, society and so on and so forth. The field of risk and integrity opens up discussions on behaviour within a variety of private and public institutions and on an individual and collective level. The Risk & Compliance Platform Europe is not just about the business world. Continue reading…

We will now report on the outcome of the recent meeting of the Governing Council, which was also attended by the Commission Executive Vice-President, Mr. Dombrovskis. The start of vaccination campaigns across the euro area is an important milestone in the resolution of the ongoing health crisis. Nonetheless, the pandemic continues to pose serious risks to public health and to the euro area and global economies. The renewed surge in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and the restrictive and prolonged containment measures imposed in many euro area countries are disrupting economic activity. Continue reading…

A major tax swindle involving sales of fuels has been brought to an end by the German authorities, with international judicial support in 11 European countries coordinated by Eurojust. During an action day, two suspects were arrested in Austria and Poland, allegedly the leaders of a criminal network that defrauded the German tax authorities of an amount of close to EUR 8 million. A total of 40 places have been searched in 11 countries, including 10 in Germany, in cities such as Hamburg, Bremen, Duisburg and Freiburg. Continue reading…

by Michel Klompmaker

As is known, a large settlement of 775 million euros was reached on 3 September 2018 between ING Bank and the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands. This large settlement came to a standstill and ING Bank paid the amount nicely. In other words, ING’s shareholders paid for this with some having felt disadvantaged. In the meantime, it has become known that the Court of Appeal in The Hague is of the opinion that the former CEO of ING, Mr. Ralph Hamers, should be prosecuted. Ralph Hamers is now the new CEO of the large Swiss bank, UBS. We wondered how the “fit and proper” test by the Swiss regulator took place in this regard and asked a few questions in writing to FINMA, the Swiss regulator. Continue reading…