08 May 2008

ECOFIN to adopt conclusions on supervision and financial stability arrangements

Council is due to adopt conclusions that allow financial supervisory authorities to consider to financial stability concerns in other Member States. Also, the role of the colleges of supervisors should be strengthened and be extended to all cross-border f

With the forhcoming ECOFIN Council taking place on 14 May, the Council will adopt conclusions that cover the convergence of key supervisory rules, standards and reporting, the role of "home" and "host" authorities, appropriately reflecting their competences and responsibilities, including the exchange of information, the role of "colleges of supervisors", the improved functioning of supervisory committees, and consideration of the inclusion of an EU dimension in the mandates of national supervisors.

 

The Council will also approve an update of three roadmaps, on the so-called Lamfalussy process for financial services and regulation and supervision, financial stability arrangements and actions taken in response to the recent turbulence on financial markets. The proposed update sets out the steps to be followed in developing the EU framework for financial market supervision, in particular as regards EU committees of supervisors and the supervision of EU-wide financial groups, as well as EU arrangements for financial stability.

 

In particular, financial supervisory authorities should be allowed to consider to financial stability concerns in other Member States at the latest by mid-2009.

 

By the end of 2008, the Commission is asked to revise the decisions on the establishment of the 3L3 Committees to ensure coherence and consistency in their mandates and tasks as well as to strengthen their contribution to supervisory cooperation and convergence.

 

Specific tasks should be explicitly given to the 3L3 Committees to foster supervisory cooperation and convergence, and their role in assessing risks to financial stability. This could include tasks such as:

(i) mediation between supervisory authorities to help in solving possible disagreements, in particular within colleges;

(ii) facilitating adequate information exchange between supervisors;

(iii) providing non-legally binding guidelines and recommendations as well as guidance for national supervisory authorities in order to ensure convergence of practices, supervisory approaches and financial reporting among the EU supervisors; 

(iv) the development of a common European supervisory culture through training and staff exchange;

(v) ensuring efficient cooperation across financial sectors between the EU Committees of Supervisors; and

(vi) monitoring of financial stability and reporting on risks to the EFC.

 

ECOFIN will also agree that role of the colleges of supervisors should be strengthened and that colleges should be extended to all cross-border financial groups in the EU. To ensure consistency among colleges and so avoid fragmentation, the colleges should operate along the same principles and objectives across financial groups (banking, insurance, conglomerates and investment services) and countries.