abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

24 Mar 2025

Author:
Financial Times

EU: Debate on competitiveness should not be used as a pretext for watering down regulation, say EU watchdogs

"EU watchdogs warn that weakening rules risks another financial crash"

Europe’s drive to simplify and streamline financial regulation is making top supervisors nervous about the risk of key safeguards being watered down. 

Two of the EU’s most senior financial supervisors told the Financial Times they were determined to avoid crisis prevention measures being swept away in the push to revive the region’s sluggish economic growth.

“If it is about deregulating and lowering the bar on financial protections, we will not be ready to tackle volatility.’’ said Dominique Laboureix, head of the Single Resolution Board — which handles failing Eurozone banks. ‘‘That means crises, which means less growth.”

The pointed intervention, which is uncommon for the watchdogs, comes after the European Commission recently announced plans to drastically cut the scope of business sustainability disclosure rules it introduced two years ago. It is also reviewing capital rules for banks and insurers as part of plans to boost financial market activity and growth. [...]

Elderson told a banking conference in London last week: “The debate on competitiveness should not be used as a pretext for watering down regulation.”

Instead of lowering regulatory requirements he said the EU should focus on harmonising them across its 27 members. “Don’t cut rules, harmonise them,” he said.

The ECB executive told the FT he supported “simplification in a nuanced way” of sustainability disclosure rules, but he warned if this went too far it could deprive banks of the information they need from companies to assess their own exposure to climate change risks.

“Was all this perfect? Probably not,” he said. “Can we do better without paying too much of a price? Possibly.” But he added: “If it were to lead to banks not having the data they need to assess these risks, that would be a problem for banks and would make our work as a supervisor more difficult.” [...] 

Part of the following timelines

EU: Development & implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Transposition & 'Omnibus' Updates

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.