ITFA Publication on Lobbying Action

As you have heard during our Annual Conference in Budapest and from our recent news releases, which are all available on our website in the insurance committee section, ITFA is at the moment engaged in defending our members interests mainly concerning the implementation of the recent Basel III amendments into European law (CRR and CRD).
 
As per our last communication on 31.10.19, you know that ITFA is responding to the consultation the European Commission has launched on 11.10.19. ITFA’s IC delegates have participated in a conference on this topic on 12.11. in Brussels and were even able to make a statement articulating again what is at stake for our members and what would be the effects on the global economy. Here you can find the official EC footing of the conference:  IMPLEMENTING BASEL III: CHALLENGES AND IMPACT – click here to watch the full video. ITFA raised the question at 11:15.
 
Some key takeaways are:

• The different viewpoints of the European Commission, BCBS, European and national regulators, national ministries, and MEPs on the potential room for deviation from the international standards was evident on all panels. 
• In general terms, the BCBS and regulators pushed back against any deviation from the rules, while the European Commission was cautious in calling for a deviation. However, in between the lines, we can read that the Commission is picking its battles and assessing where a deviation from the global framework makes sense. Commission’s Deputy-Director General, Mr Sean Berrigan said in his closing remarks that we need to identify (i) the main drivers of the capital requirements, (ii) whether these are justified and (iii) whether these have a disproportionate impact on the EU; if this is the case, we will not shy away from deviating. 

ITFA together with Hume Brophy has also prepared a briefing note which summarizes the concerns ITFA has on the revision of the Basel framework in an easy to understand manner. This note is also available for all ITFA members on our website: 2019 – 11 ITFA paper on credit insurance – FINAL.
 
Also, if you are interested in the topic – there is a good summary of the issue by Davide Guidicelli, Head of Bank Trade and Infrastructure Finance as Swiss Re available on Trade Finance Global – please click here to view the summary.