trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/vg6htek5wtvtvyqe3gnz9w2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Report: France calls for tighter rules for foreign i-banks in EU

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Report: France calls for tighter rules for foreign i-banks in EU

The French government wants stricter rules for foreign investment banks looking to operate in the bloc, Reuters reported.

In a discussion document, France said a proposed EU law tightening wholesale market access to trade stocks, bonds, currencies and derivatives for institutional customers is not enough, according to the June 1 report. France reportedly said the draft law, which was proposed in December 2017, "fails to address" many shortcomings.

France reportedly proposed that non-EU investment firms be subject to the "shared competence" of the regulator in their home country and of the EU's European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA. Foreign investment firms should also be required to establish a branch in the EU by registering with the ESMA, while foreign trading platforms should be required to open full-fledged units in the bloc, putting them under direct supervision by EU regulators, it added.

France believes the so-called equivalence system for foreign companies operating in the EU was not designed to deal with a major financial hub like London, the report added. "Equivalence decisions should not be seen as a blank check but should rather continuously be assessed over time, and in a consistent manner," France reportedly said.

This is not the first time France took a hard stance on overseas firms' access to the single market. On the issue of a free trade agreement with Britain for its financial sector, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in March, "We don't believe that financial services can be part of [a free trade agreement] ... There will be no financial passport."