ECMI Policy Briefs

Policy Briefs are short papers, of not more than ten pages, which discuss upcoming or recently implemented EU financial regulation and how it will affect market architecture, various business models, intermediaries, end-users, and other stakeholders. You can download an electronic copy of our commentaries for free by following the links below.

The New Financial Regulatory Paradigm: A Transatlantic Perspective

This ECMI-CEPS Policy Brief reviews key aspects of the new financial paradigm in a transatlantic perspective, focusing on the general approach in EU and US legislation in response to the financial crisis and the G-20 commitments and specifically as regards the extraterritorial implications. Following discussion of the institutional setting, conclusions are offered on what these changes mean in the context of the future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. 

Prospects and Challenges of a Pan-European Post-Trade Infrastructure

ECMI Policy Brief 20, November 2012: After more than a decade of indecision, the EU is finally now set to implement a consistent regulatory architecture for clearing and settlement. Following the agreement on a European market infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the European Commission has proposed harmonised rules for centralised settlement depositaries (CSDs), while the European Central Bank is moving forward with its plans for a central eurozone settlement engine.

Reviewing the EU’s Market Abuse Rules

ECMI Policy Brief 19, May 2012: In 2011, an EU legislative package on market abuse was proposed, which comprises two sets of documents: 1) a draft Regulation that will largely replace the existing Market Abuse Directive (MAD) and the level 2 measures; and a new Directive dealing with criminal sanctions. Market abuse rules are needed to ensure market integrity and investor confidence, and to allow companies to raise capital and contribute to economic growth, thereby increasing employment.

The Eurozone Debt Crisis

CEPS Policy Brief 251, August 2011: As the Eurozone debt crisis reaches a turning point, ECMI Research Fellow Diego Valiante argues for a more organised intervention by the ECB to stop contagion through the creation of a quantitative easing programme, coupled with a political agreement among member states on a more federalist budget for the Eurozone. The roots of this crisis and how institutions have repeated some of the mistakes of the Argentine crisis, both in 1998 and 2010, are considered in this paper.

NYSE Euronext – Deutsche Börse Merger: Let the dance go on!

ECMI Policy Brief 18, March 2011: Research Fellow Diego Valiante offers his insights into the motivations, potential synergies and implications of the proposed merger between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse, which he sees as a continuation of the intricate series of dances begun two decades ago between exchanges worldwide and which now escalates at global level in the non-equity business. The author finds that the liberalization process and regulatory changes brought about by the financial crisis have revived this long-term process.

What reforms for the credit rating industry? A European perspective

ECMI Policy Brief 17, October 2010: Despite having singled out credit rating agencies (CRAs) early on in the financial crisis as needing more regulation, policy-makers in the EU seem not to be reassured by the measures that have been adopted in the meantime, and want to go further. This paper starts with an overview of the credit rating industry today. The second section analyses the use of credit ratings and shows how the authorities have created a captive or artificial market for CRAs.

The MiFID Metamorphosis

ECMI Policy Brief 16, April 2010: In their assessment of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), adopted by the EU in April 2004 and implemented at Member State level by the end of 2007, Karel Lannoo and Diego Valiante find that the legislation has been remarkably successful in terms of improving market structure and efficiency. In their view, the upcoming MiFID review should therefore take a ‘light touch’, clarifying some definitions and extending price transparency to related segments of securities markets.

Regulatory Challenges for the EU Asset Management Industry

ECMI Policy Brief 15, April 2010: The European asset management industry is feeling squeezed from all sides, as a result of growing prudential, product and conduct regulation. A new Directive, UCITS IV, has only just been enacted, and already new challenges are emerging in the regulation of hedge and venture capital funds, the review of the regulatory regime for depositaries (or financial custodians) and amendments to the MiFID Directive. In addition, a new European supervisory framework is in the making, which implies much stricter controls on enforcement.

Comparing EU and US Responses to the Financial Crisis

ECMI Policy Brief 14, January 2010:  Since 2003, the EU and the US have conducted a vibrant regulatory dialogue on financial regulation, but domestic priorities seem to have taken precedence in response to the financial crisis. This ECMI Policy Brief compares the institutional and regulatory changes occurring on both sides of the Atlantic. On the institutional side, it compares macro- and micro-prudential reforms.

Integrating Europe's Back Office: 10 years of turning in circles

ECMI Policy Brief 13, June 2009: The financial crisis has sharpened the debate on Europe’s back office architecture. This paper reviews the ECB’s decision to proceed with its Target 2 Securities (T2S) project, which aims to establish a common IT platform for securities settlement, reducing differences between current infrastructures. The apparently solid configuration of the project shakes, however, when we closely examine the impact of this common infrastructure on the competitive landscape.

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