The EU Commission withdrew its proposal to prevent the largest and most complex banks from engaging in risky trading on their own account. A solution that until a few years ago was considered essential to prevent the financial and banking crises which, starting from 2008, have caused one of the major economic recessions of the last century.
At the basis of the Commission's decision is the stalemate in which the dossier has been experiencing for two years: "there is no agreement in sight, the dossier has not progressed since 2015". Furthermore, explains the EU executive, "the main objective of guaranteeing financial stability was tackled at the same time by other regulatory measures in the banking sector and in particular with the entry into force of the supervisory and resolution tools of the union banking"
According to what was declared by the community spokesperson for the financial markets managers, Vanessa Mock, to date "there is no work in progress or planned in the near future on this dossier".
It should be emphasized that, despite the backtracking on this measure, last year Europe presented a reform of the banking sector in which measures were included aimed precisely at tackling the risks deriving from the extreme complexity of systemic banks.
A reform that follows the many changes that have characterized the credit sector in recent years: from the reduction of trading operations by large institutions to banking supervision. Prudential requirements that apply to trading and the ability to absorb potential losses have also been implemented.
The Commission's original proposal forbade proprietary trading in financial instruments and commodities for the sole purpose of making a profit for the bank, an activity which carries many risks but no tangible benefits for the bank's customers or the economy at large. type. The text also established that the supervisor had the power to enforce the transfer of other high-risk trading activities to separate legal trading entities within the group
According to the European Commission, all the rules and prohibitions envisaged by the text have already been approved through successive measures adopted.
