European banking associations (European Association of Cooperative Banks; Banking Federation of the European Union and European Savings Banks Group) and the European SME associations (Eurochambres; UEAPME and BusinessEurope). The European Federation of...

Summary of the initiative

Name
European banking associations (European Association of Cooperative Banks; Banking Federation of the European Union and European Savings Banks Group) and the European SME associations (Eurochambres; UEAPME and BusinessEurope). The European Federation of Accountants
Website(s)
http://www.ebic.org/
Objective(s)
The Code of Conduct between credit institutions and SMEs outlines a set of principles to ensure a mutually beneficial, loyalty-based and rewarding relationship between credit institutions and SMEs developments in the banking sector (mergers, reduction in the number of branches, etc.) were a matter of concern for the SME associations, in particular regarding access to financing.

Description of the Initiative

Sector

Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act

PRIVATE ACT
Year
2004
Title of Act
Code of conduct between credit institutions and SMEs
Review, Revision or Sunset Clause Year
2009
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT
Year
2004
Title of Act
Commission staff working paper, Code of Conduct between credit institutions and SMEs, SEC(2004)484, 23/04/2004

Geographical Coverage

Global coverage
EU-wide
Participating Countries
Austria

Description

Problems that lead to the introduction of Self/Co-Regulation and the adoption of the Founding Act
(Perception of) discriminatory treatment against SMEs.<BR>Loan decision insufficiently transparent and/or slow.
Target Group(s)
Banking and financial sector.
Type of Instrument(s)
Code of conduct.The Industry Council of 5 December 2001 called upon the Commission to draft a European Code of Conduct between banks, finance providers and SMEs in order to improve their understanding of each other, and implicitly recognised that its implementation was the responsibility of the stakeholders, i.e. the banking and SME associations, on a voluntary basis. The Code is the result of consultations between the European associations concerned. In September 2002, a Working Party was set up formally with the six main European banking and the European SME associations (European Association of Cooperative Banks; Banking Federation of the European Union and European Savings Banks Group on one hand; Eurochambres; UEAPME and BusinessEurope on the other hand), plus two observers: the European Federation of Accountants (FEE) and the Network of European Financial Institutions (NEFI). To facilitate consultation, the Commission had the role of initiator and catalyst. At the Working Party´s request, the Commission submitted an annotated outline of the Code, based on existing codes of conduct. The Working Party set up within it a drafting committee consisting of three members, one from the Commission, one from the European banking associations and one from the SME associations. The six associations stated in October 2003 that they were willing to subsribe to the code. Following the conclusions of the Industry Council (predecessor to the Competitiveness Council) of 5 December 2001, it is now up to the Member States to encourage the banking associations and SME associations at national level to use the Code of Conduct.
Level(s) at which private rules should be defined and applied
Member state
Type of Financing
-
Type of Monitoring
Conduct an initial survey of compliance capacity of future regulateesConduct regular visits and spot checksInitiate complaints proceduresMaintain database of those bounded by the normsProduce regular reportsReceive complaints and verify if norms were breached or notReflexive dialogue with the - stakeholdersOther
European Commissionyes
National public authority
International public authority
Private regulator (code owner)yesyes
Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
Self-appointed private parties (e.g. NGOs)
Succinct description of the type of Monitoring
The Commission will continue its dialog with the European Banking Associations and the European SME associations. The European Credit Sector Associations and European SMEs organisations will hold annual meetings to assess the use of the European Code of Conduct and to continue the dialogue.
Type of Enforcement
Faming, shaming and blamingJudicial sanctionsMembership suspension/exclusionPrivate finesOther
Private Regulator
Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
Court system
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) / Online dispute resolution (ODR)
Succinct description of the type of Enforcement
No specific enforcement mechanism foreseen, associations insisting on the voluntary nature of the Code. However, at the national level, credit institutions and SMEs organisations adhering to the European Code of Conduct are invited to use existing dispute resolution processes for matters related with the Code. When such process does not exist, agreement on appropriate method to deal with complaints should be reached at national level.

Results of Commission Monitoring

Link / Reference of Evaluation
-

Downloads

SMO self- and co-regulation database - private code 26
pdf
EN