Interesting speech here with the following notes on how the Commission should regulate:
Those who know me well recognise that this is not a plea for regulatory action, rather for the most "appropriate and proportionate" response in each area. Appropriate can be to let the industry take the initiative, such as in the case of the Single European Payments Area. Appropriate can be not to legislate but to agree upon a set of principles, such as in the case of the Code of conduct for Clearing and Settlement, with industry agreeing to implement, subject to strict monitoring. . Appropriate can be to amend a directive to bring it up to date or to repeal it when it becomes redundant. There is no "one fits all" solution across financial services, nor should there be.
Before taking any decision, the Commission carries out impact assessments and consults extensively with stakeholders. Many of you have already been consulted or have expressed opinions, for which I am grateful. Indeed, the success of any measure - be it legislative or non-legislative- largely depends on the input it enjoys from regulators, supervisors and market participants.
All very well but action speaks louder than words. If all the above is true, why are the retail bankers still waiting for:
- the repeal of regulation 2560 as it is inconsistent with the cost-based fees in payments that the Commission deems necessary to promote more efficiency in EU-payments,
- publishing of the comments that the Commission received on the SEPA-incentives paper.
Apparently the Commissioner is not willing to put his money where his mouth is?
