The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published its Opinion on the scale and impact of de-risking in the EU and the steps competent authorities should take to tackle unwarranted de-risking. Providing access to at least basic financial products and services is a prerequisite for the participation in modern economic and social life and de-risking, when unwarranted, can cause the financial exclusion of legitimate customers. It can also affect competition and financial stability. De-risking refers to decisions taken by financial institutions not to provide services to customers in certain risk categories. De-risking can be a legitimate risk management tool but it can also be a sign of ineffective money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk management, with at times severe consequences.

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by Geert Vermeulen

Two former employees of Dutch social housing corporation Vestia have been convicted for corruption. One of them received a 2,5 year jail sentence and the other one was sentenced to 1 year in jail. Cleaning companies, window cleaners and contractors who worked for Vestia paid the two employees large money amounts and goods in kind to get assignments from the housing corporation. The father of one of the employees and two intermediaries were involved as well. The Vestia employees told the suppliers in advance what price they should offer. Vestia estimates that the total damage of the fraud for them has been around EUR 3 million.
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Yesterday, the Commission published an open public consultation on the upcoming European Media Freedom Act, a landmark initiative announced by President von der Leyen in her 2021 State of the Union address to safeguard the pluralism and independence of the media in the EU internal market. This follows a call for evidence published on 21 December 2021 outlining the main aims of the initiative, possible options and impacts. Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said: “Media are a pillar of democracy. But today this pillar is cracking, with attempts by governments and private groups to put pressure on the media. This is why the Commission will propose common rules and safeguards to protect the independence and the pluralism of the media. Journalists should be able to do their work, inform citizens and hold power to account without fear or favour. We are now consulting broadly to come with the best proposal.”
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Join the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics for their 10th Annual European Compliance & Ethics Institute, which will be taking place both in-person and virtually to learn about the challenges facing the European and global compliance and ethics community. Hear from today’s compliance and ethics leaders on the latest solutions to your challenges, hear strategies to mitigate risk, and improve your organisation’s compliance program. ECEI’s educational sessions will provide you with the opportunity to earn live Compliance Certification Board (CCB)® continuing education units (CEUs).
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The judicial authorities in Sweden and France have set up a joint investigation team (JIT) to support proceedings involving core international crimes committed by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) against the Yezidi population in Syria and Iraq. Eurojust has supported the setting up of the JIT, which will enable the long-term coordination of investigations and the swift sharing of information and evidence. The joint efforts will also avoid multiple interviews of the same victims, who have lived through dire circumstances. Continue reading…

Ursula von der Leyen

I am delighted to be here with the College of Commissioners to mark the start of the French Presidency of the Council. France is taking on this prized responsibility in very particular circumstances: the public health situation with regard to COVID-19 is still worrying. However, we are taking strong action on the vaccination front. This has enabled us to vaccinate almost 70% of the entire population and almost 80% of adults in Europe. Not only have we supplied Europeans with 1.2 billion vaccine doses, but in parallel, we have also exported 1.5 billion vaccine doses to over 150 countries. Furthermore, we are massively supporting the economy, in particular with EUR 800 billion under the NextGenerationEU recovery programme. Continue reading…

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can be used effectively for international settlements between financial institutions, as shown in the newest wholesale CBDC experiment concluded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Bank of France (BdF) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). The recently completed Project Jura explored settling foreign exchange (FX) transactions in euro and Swiss franc wholesale CBDCs as well as issuing, transferring and redeeming tokenised euro-denominated French commercial paper between French and Swiss financial institutions. Continue reading…

The COVID-19 crisis is creating big financial problems for many corporates, particularly when current government support comes to an end. The banks are insufficiently prepared to deal with those problems, as former banker and restructuring consultant Rob Wijman writes in his book Heavy Weather Banking. ‘Just like a hospital, a bank needs an Intensive Care department with sufficiently skilled staff.’

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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has recently published a Practices Paper on the Execution of Bail-in. Bail-in is at the core of resolution strategies for global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). Set out in the Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions, it is an important tool enabling an orderly resolution that minimises any impact on financial stability and ensures the continuity of critical functions, without exposing taxpayers to loss. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Stephen Braviner Roman as General Counsel and as a member of its Executive Committee following an open competition. Stephen is expected to join the FCA in February next year. Megan Butler has announced she will step down from her role as Executive Director of Transformation in the spring. Megan joined the FCA from the Bank of England in 2016 as Executive Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and Specialist. Emily Shepperd will lead the FCA’s transformation programme, alongside her role as Executive Director of Authorisations, where since March she has spearheaded changes to our approach to the gateway and has been leading a number of transformation workstreams. Continue reading…