Download Finanslobbyen i EU og krisen

The Finance Lobby and the
European Union
The Lobby Groups
The Finance Lobby in the EU
• 700 lobbyists in Bruxelles
• Most lobbying via associations
• Commands huge sums of money
• Deemed to be ‘experts’ by the
Commission
Legislative process in five
stages
1. The big plans (strategy)
2. Proposals are made
3. Politicial decision process
(Council and Parliament)
4. Precisioning and
transposure
5. Enforcement
How the EU designed
the rules that flunked
The crisis
• Big banks had made huge
risky investments
• Credit rating agencies had
deemed them right all
along
• Accountancy
standards/rules had made
it next to impossible for
the authorities to see
through them
• Hedge funds were one
type of vehicle that
enables banks to hide bad
investments
The financial sector and the
crisis
Four examples:
1. (Self) regulation of banks
2. Credit rating agencies
3. Accountancy standards
4. Hedge funds
Why the expert groups matter
• They provide lobbyists with a
chance to influence new legislation
before it’s released by the
Commission
• They’re an important part of the
surface of contact between the
lobbyists and the civil servants.
Expert group on banking
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Mr Javier Arias Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
Mr Michel Van Lierde
LeaseEurope/Euro-Finas
Dr Lothar Blatt- von Raczeck
Deutscher Sparkassen- und
Giroverband
Mr Rainer W. Boden Deutsche Bank
AG
Mr Steve Johnson European Banking
Federation
Mr Bill Eldridge Barclays Bank PLC
Mr Mick McAteer Which? (UK
Consumer Association)
Mr Gérard Gardella Société Générale
Mr Alain Gourio BNPPARIBAS
Mr Volker Heegemann EACB
Ms Judith Hardt European Mortgage
Federation
Mr Riccardo Iozzo San Paolo IMI Bank
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Ms Michaela Koller ESBG - European
Saving Banks Association
Mr Wim Mijs ABN AMRO
Mr Joan Rosas Xicota La Caixa
Ms Katharine Seal LIBA
Ms Emmanuelle Sebton ISDA
Prof. Blanche Sousi Université Lyon 3,
Chaire Jean Monnet
Mr Tomasz J. Stachurski ING Poland
Mr Freddy Van Den Spiegel Fortis
Bank
Mr Miles Webber Merrill Lynch
Mr Pehr Wissén Svenska
Handelsbanken
Mr Andreas Zehnder European
Federation of Building Societies
Expert Group: Liquidity
Group on
liquidity of
banks
Credit rating agencies
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Pr Luis Miguel Beleza, Banco
Comercial Português;
Dott Salvatore Bragantini,
Centrobanca S.p.A.;
Dr Rolf E Breuer, Deutsche Bank
AG;
Mr Donald Brydon, AXA
Investment Managers;
Mr Ignace Combes, Euroclear
Bank;
Mr P.P.F. de Vries,
Euroshareholders;
Mr Lars-Erik Forsgardh, Swedish
Shareholders Association;
Mr Dominique Hoenn, Euronext;
Ms Sonja Lohse, Nordea AB;
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Mr Theodoros Philippou, The
Institute of Certified Public
Accounts of
Cyprus,
Mr Mariano Rabadan, (INVERCO);
Mr Wieslaw Rozlucki, Warsaw
Stock Exchange;
Pr Rüdiger von Rosen, Deutsches
Aktieninstitut;
Pr Dr Emmanuel D. Xanthakis,
Marfin Bank
Mr Zoltan Zpeder, OTP Bank RT
Investment Funds
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Mr Segun Aganga UK Goldman Sachs
Mr Antonio Ary dos Santos Freire P Santander
Ms Odette Cesari FR Axa-IM
Mr Neil Donnelly IRL Pioneer
Mr Alain Dubois FR Lyxor
Mr Horst Eich DE Allianz
Mr Paul Feeney UK Gartmore
Mr Holger Hartenfels DE Deutsche Bank
Ms Gay Huey Evans US Citigroup-Tribeca
Mr Alain Reinhold FR ADI
Mr Rupert Rossander CH MAN
Mr Lindsay Tomlinson UK BGI
Mr Jack Tracy UK Morgan Stanley
Mr Luc de Vet LUX Citco
Mr Neil Warrender UK RAB Capital
Mr Damian Neylin IRL PricewaterhouseCoopers
Expert group on investments
Expert groups on tax removing tax obstacles
to investment funds
Accountancy standards
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Johan van Helleman, KPMG
Yves Bernheim, Mazars & Guerard
Andreas Bezold, IAS 39 Implementation Guidance Committee
Allan Cook, UK Accounting Standards Board
Stig Enevoldsen, Deloitte & Touche
Begoña Giner, Professor in Accounting and Finance, Valencia.
Hans Leeuwerik, Shell International
Freddy Méan, PetroFina, ERT (European Round Table)
Eberhard Scheffler, German standard setter GASB
Friedrich Spandl, Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft AG (BAWAG)
Giuseppe Verna, Italian Accounting Standards Setting Body
Some statistics (2010)
Expert groups (non-governmental): 14
80 % of members from the financial
sector
12 groups heavily dominated by rep.
from the financial sector
7 exclusively with representatives
from the financial sector
The crisis and
the big promise
The crisis and the promise
“I think the current crisis has shown that
we need a comprehensive rethinking of
our regulatory and supervision rules for
financial markets”
José Manuel Barroso, October 2008
A protagonist
Charlie McCreevy
Single Market
Commissioner
(2004-2009)
Former Irish minister
of finance
McCreevy’s confession
• ” I've learned that all consultation
bodies should be able to stand back
also, and say 'it's wonderful what
the industry has said' but we need
to be a bit more objective
ourselves".
• “The fact that consensus [among
stakeholders] has been reached
does not mean it should all be
implemented.“
January 2009
McCreevy again
“What we do not need is to become captive
of those with the biggest lobby budgets
or the most persuasive lobbyists: We
need to remember that it was many of
those same lobbyists who in the past
managed to convince legislators to insert
clauses and provisions that contributed
so much to the lax standards and mass
excesses that have created the systemic
risks. The taxpayer is now forced to pick
up the bill.”
Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, February 09
McCreevy againagain
” In the case of legislators, I am convinced
that over the years there has been too
much "regulatory capture" by the sell
side of the financial services market:
Their lobbies have been strong and
powerful. By contrast there has been too
little engagement on the buy side. That is
an imbalance that legislators must be
much more conscious of.. ”
February 2009
How the financial lobby
won the post-crisis battle
The first step:
the de Larosière group
Jacques de Larosière (BNP Paribas)
Otmar Issing (Goldman Sachs)
Onno Ruding (Citicorp)
Rainer Masera (Lehman Brothers)
José Pérez Fernandez (ex-BBVA)
Leszek Balcerowicz
Lars Nyberg
Letter from Barnier
”I am aware that the financial and
economic crisis has significantly shaken
the confidence of consumers, retail
investors and SMEs in the regulation that
are meant to protect them from failings in
the financial system.”
Michel Barnier to ALTER-EU, Nov. 10
Letter from Barnier
” Therefore it is more essential than ever
that the concerns of end-users and other
non-industry stakeholders are taken into
account when the Commission designs
initiatives that aim to restore citizens’
confidence in the soundness of the
financial sector. ”
Michel Barnier to ALTER-EU, Nov. 10
Banking regulation
“..a very real risk” that
“regulatory reforms come
into force that could
undermine global recovery
and job creation”
Institute of Internationale Finance, Summer 2010
The Group of Experts on Banking
Issues
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1. Mr Martin Abbott, Bank of America Merrill
Lynch
2. Mr Davide Alfonsi, Intesa Sanpaolo
3. Mr Lars Andreasen, Danske Bank
4. Mr David Benson, Nomura
5. Mr Michel Bilger, Credit Agricole Group
6. Mr Ales Blazek, GE Capital global banking
group
7. Mr Pierre-Henri Cassou, Deloitte
8. Mr Robert Charnley, Goldman Sachs
9. Mr Maurizio Cravero, Unicredit Group
10. Mr José Luis de Mora, Grupo Santander
11. Mr Achim Duebel, Finpolconsult.de
12. Mr José-Luis Escrivá, BBVA Group
13. Mr Ernesto Fiorillo, Consumatori Associati
14. Mr Daniel Gros, Centre for European Policy
Studies
15. Mr Jordi Gual, "la Caixa"
16. Mr Bill Hayward, Barclays Bank Plc
17. Ms Patricia Jackson, Ernst and Young
18. Ms Anna-Maria Jurkowska-Zeidler,
University of Gdansk
19. Ms Leena Kallasvuo, OP-Pohjola Group
20. Mr Rüdiger Krautheuser, NRW.BANK
21. Ms Dorte Kurek, Nykredit
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22. Mr Christian Lajoie, BNP Paribas
23. Mr Luc Léonard, Dexia SA
24. Ms Leena Mörttinen, Nordea Group
25. Mr Olof Myhrman, SEB Merchant Banking
26. Ms Kerstin Neumann, Commerzbank AG
27. Mr Jesper Nielsen, Danish financial services
union
28. Mr Frank-Christian Pauli, Federation of German
Consumer Organisations
29. Mr Mark Penney, HSBC
30. Mr Thomas Poppensieker, McKinsey &
Company
31. Mr Andrew Procter, Deutsche Bank AG London
32. Dr Paul Quigley, AIB Group
33. Mr Jörg Reinbrecht, UNI Europa
34. Mr Ralph Ricks, The Royal Bank of Scotland
35. Ms Magdolna Szőke, Takarékbank Zrt.
36. Ms Hiltrud Thelen Pischke,
PricewaterhouseCoopers AG
37. Mr Andrzej Topinski, Credit Information Bureau
38. Mr Andreas Treichl, Erste Group Bank AG
39. Mr Harm Van de Meerendonk, ING
40. Ms Myriam Vander Stichele, SOMO Centre for
Research on Multinational Corporations
41. Ms Pamela Walkden, Standard Chartered Bank
42. Mr Giuseppe Zadra, Prima Holding
Banking regulation
Commission and Council: Lower than Basel:
1. Capital requirements
Basel: 8 per cent minimum
C&C: 8 percent max. and minimum with some exceptions
2. Liquidity
Basel: Test period with clear numbers on requirements
C&C: Test period with no fixed numbers
Banking regulation
New rule on leverage:
Max. ratio: 33 times the banks’ assets
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Corporate capture
Accounting standards
Derivatives
Investment and investor
regulation (MiFID)
Investment funds
• Scaremongering
• Lobbying at national level (UK not
least)
• Contacts to the US government
• Massive lobbying in the European
Parliament
• Astroturfing
Investment funds
” Nearly 700 companies signed a letter to MEPs
warning of the dangers of the directive..”
The Independent, May 2010
The Directive…”would distort the market, harm finance
for innovation and company growth and ultimately
inhibit Europe’s economic recovery.”
Letter signed by 700 ‘SMEs’
Investment funds
Part of a conclusion
• Overhaul of expert groups
• A mandatory register for lobbyists
(incl. financial transparency)
• Development of an ‘arms length
principle’
• Improvement of rules on access-todocuments
www.corporateeurope.org