Shadow banking

See EESC opinion in all languages under Related documents at the end of this page.

Key points:

The EESC:

• believes that the Green Paper provides a timely analysis of the problems linked to the shadow banking system;
• considers there should be no such thing as "shadow" activities: the shadow banking system should be subject to the same regulatory and prudential requirements as the financial system as a whole;
• considers that protecting European consumers through transparency of the products offered to them should be one of the objectives of regulation of the shadow banking system. The Committee has already advocated establishing a European Agency for Consumer Financial Protection;
• advocates a global approach to the problems of the shadow banking system and the proposal of political responses;
• proposes that social responsibility in the financial sector and the objective of "ensur[ing] all financial activities are contributing to economic growth" be among the objectives of the Green Paper;
• emphasises that the European Union must contribute to the FSB's work on shadow banks and must coordinate its initiatives with the FSB to ensure consistency in terms of timing as well as content.

Other EESC opinions on Financial services

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat