Shadow banking - Follow-up

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the detailed package of measures  and, more specifically, the strengthening of the prudential banking framework for limiting contagion and arbitrage risks;
• welcomes the efforts to boost transparency;
• recommends stepping up the pace and focusing work on legislation on transferable securities, as securities financing transactions - especially repurchase agreements and securities lending transactions - play a central role when it comes to excessive indebtedness in the financial sector;
• recommends intensifying and accelerating action to clarify the crucial issue of strengthening oversight of the shadow banking sector;
• recommends bolstering the regulatory initiatives regarding the protection of citizens by means of transparency, proper information, social responsibility on the part of the financial sector, and protection for consumers and small investors;
• considers that the Communication should point out that the shadow banking sector should not be seen solely in terms of the risks that it poses. It also constitutes an additional alternative financing channel that can be useful for the real economy.

Other relevant EESC opinions:

• Opinions on financial markets
• Opinion on Shadow banking (CESE 1253/2012, INT/643)