Sector

A solid balance sheet structure will help European banks buffer stressed market conditions following the collapse of their US peers Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, credit agency Moody’s said. 

Answering questions about the bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, the European Central Bank on Sunday underlined its concerns over how European banks are managing risks relating to increasing interest rates. The ECB reiterated that a recent supervisory review found weaknesses at banks, including ignoring consumer behaviour shifts that could lead to deposit withdrawals when rates rise. “Beyond a certain point, it could become an issue,” ECB chief bank supervisor Andrea Enria said in a Latvian interview last week.

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, the grand duchy’s leading fund and asset management association known as Alfi, turns 35 this year. It’s a milestone to be marked at its upcoming European Asset Management conference on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March. 

A total of 69 signatories representing the Luxembourg financial sector on Wednesday marked International Women’s Day 2023 by signing the newly launched Luxembourg Women in Finance Charter, seeking to improve gender diversity in the grand duchy’s financial centre.

The initiative, supported by the Luxembourg finance ministry, seeks to achieve greater gender balance and inclusivity across the Luxembourg financial services industry. Finance minister Yuriko Backes will act as the charter’s patron.

There’s a battle raging just out of view on Europe’s financial markets. It’s a fight between data originators – largely but not only the stock exchanges – and the data users – who could be anyone active on the markets  – over the proposed “consolidated tape” which aims to improve access to trading data. Selling access has become “probably one of their biggest cash cows,” said a representative for Europe’s asset management sector, commenting on the position of the stock exchanges.

Banks are vulnerable to damage from climate change, which could particularly affect their balance sheets and asset holdings. Banks in southern Europe are more vulnerable than average: they face increased physical risks for more than 60 per cent of their corporate loans. Transition risks mainly involve loans to carbon-intensive sectors, which are included in the portfolios of a limited number of banks.

Financial supervisor CSSF has issued a fine of 1.56 million euros to the Luxembourg unit of Belgian bank Degroof Petercam after it found the firm to be in “non-compliance with its professional obligations” in regards to anti-money laundering measures.

Banks across Europe and elsewhere in the world should brace themselves for having their climate policies challenged in court after French bank BNP Paribas last week became the first commercial bank to find itself confronted with a lawsuit because of its support to fossil fuels and for contributing to climate change.

With the endorsement of almost all European stock exchanges, the “consolidated tape” recently booked significant progress. Hurdles remains however, as representatives of stock exchanges and asset managers remain at loggerheads. “Europe risks missing the boat on this entire issue of really getting market structure right,” FESE’s director general Rainer Riess told Investment Officer.

LPeC, an international association for listed private capital, has become part of Invest Europe, the Brussels-based trade association for the European private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors. LPeC will continue as Invest Europe’s Listed Private Capital Roundtable.