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Adopted in 2002, Directive 2002/65/EC on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services introduced a legal framework for governing the distance marketing of financial services, such as banking, loans, insurance and investment. Back then, when relevant legislation was limited at Member State level, the directive aimed to improve consumer protection rules for financial services sold at a distance and to consolidate the internal market by aligning rules in this area. Since its adoption, however, ...

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The war itself, as well as related sanctions and countersanctions are expected to have a significant impact on the euro area economy. This paper summarises the recent monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s Governing Council and outlines some policy issues and challenges that might arise in the context of the war, related to price stability, financial stability, climate and energy policies, ECB/Eurosystem staff projections ...

This briefing paper describes and evaluates the law and economics of institution(al) protection schemes. Throughout our analysis, we use Europe’s largest such scheme, that of German savings banks, as paradigm. We find strengths and weaknesses: Strong network-internal monitoring and early warning seems to be an important contributor to IPS network success. Similarly, the geographical quasi-cartel encourages banks to build a strong client base, including SME, in all regions. Third, the growth of ...

This paper discusses the Institutional Protection Schemes of the German Savings Banks Finance Group and the National Association of Cooperative Banks. Both schemes have been recognised as Deposit Guarantee Schemes. Although both schemes never had to pay out to depositors, supervisors have expressed worries about several weaknesses of the IPS of the Savings Banks Finance Group, such as unclear responsibilities of the ‘owners’ and the IPS, complex decision-making processes, risk of insufficient pro-active ...

The present study provides an analysis of the existing Institutional Protection Schemes (IPSs) in the Banking Union within the context of the ongoing review of the bank crisis management and deposit insurance framework. The paper examines how IPSs form an integral part of the European deposit insurance protection architecture, specifically in Germany and Austria, and how IPS operate alongside National Resolution Authorities and National Deposit Insurance Schemes

The IA covers two Commission proposals representing the biggest amendment to date of the Solvency II framework, which came into force in the EU in 2016. Important parts of the framework laid down in delegated and implementing acts will be updated by the Commission at a later stage. This IA builds on a broad consultation of stakeholders, and on extensive advice from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). In addition to various reports from EIOPA including a holistic IA ...

This study analyses the Commission proposal for a Regulation on European green bonds. It compares the proposal with existing EU legislation on sustainable finance and financial regulation and contextualises it in the EU green bond market. The assessment covers key regulatory aims, advantages of voluntary and mandatory options, different types of sustainable bonds, alignment with the Taxonomy Regulation, corporate and sovereign bonds, transparency requirements, review and supervision, enforcement ...

This briefing paper investigates the practice of close cooperation and examines the banking system performance in Bulgaria and Croatia. The factors that could pose risks to Bulgarian and Croatian banks are identified.

The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission have committed to listen to Europeans and to follow up, within their sphere of competences, on the recommendations made. In this framework, four European Citizens’ Panels have been organized to allow citizens to jointly think about the future they want for the European Union • Panel 1 - "Stronger economy, social justice, jobs, education, culture, sport, digital transformation" • Panel 2 - "EU democracy, values, rights, rule of law ...

The close cooperation arrangement for Bulgaria and Croatia poses challenges for the ECB that we discuss in terms of existing and emerging risks and vulnerabilities in the two banking sectors. The focus is on three risk areas: money laundering, climate change risk, and geopolitical tensions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The high political and economic uncertainty arising from this conflict requires a reassessment of existing risks (such as credit and sovereign risks) and sources of new risks ...