Activities of Kira Marie PETER-HANSEN related to 2020/2036(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Digital Finance: emerging risks in crypto-assets - regulatory and supervisory challenges in the area of financial services, institutions and markets - Further development of the Capital Markets Union (CMU): improving access to capital market finance, in particular by SMEs, and further enabling retail investor participation (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on further development of the Capital Markets Union (CMU): improving access to capital market finance, in particular by SMEs, and further enabling retail investor participation
Amendments (43)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the results of the regular ECB Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s Summer 2020 Economic Forecast,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas all actions taken to create a Capital Markets Union (CMU) should haveaim to improving the range of financing options offered to companies and citizens, as well as a greater range of more attractive investment offers, as their objective access to financing for those real economy businesses that have difficulties obtaining it, especially sustainable ones, or to offer better, i.e. simple and transparent, investment options to citizens in accordance with their risk tolerance;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas capital markets offer opportunities for investors who seek income and for businesses that seek financing, but are also inherently risky and prone to short-termism; whereas the reasons for risk on capital markets comprise the excess of yield-seeking savings over good quality investment opportunities, weak supply of safe assets and persistently low interest rates; whereas those risks are likely to increase further in the short and medium term as a result of the extreme economic and fiscal uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 crisis and, in the medium and long term, by the financial risks related to climate change;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas some investors have higher risk tolerance than others, and whereas not all businesses are in a position to access and benefit from capital market finance;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the actions taken so far to achieve the CMU are moving in the right directionhave failed to channel more capital towards sustainable businesses and to provide investors with better investment opportunities in accordance with their risk tolerance; whereas much work nevertheless remains to be done in terms of the precision, and effectiveness and simplification of the measures adopted;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas a well-capitalised banking sector will continue to play an important role in financing businesses, especially SMEs;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas, according to recent reports and consumer-focused surveys1a, most European retail investors have sustainability preferences and want to take into account environmental, social or governance factors and risks in their investment decisions, but are rarely offered compatible products; _________________ 1aSee for example: https://2degrees- investing.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/03/A-Large- Majority-of-Retail-Clients-Want-to- Invest-Sustainably.pdf
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the limited use of securitisation since the 2008 global financial crisis is mainly due to the strengthened post-crisis regulatory framework which made securitisation more expensive for banks; whereas the high risks for macro-financial stability associated with securitisation products warrant higher not lower capital requirements; whereas securitisation of SMEs loans is marginal due its additional costs and inherent complexity, which makes it difficult to work without public guarantees;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for the removal of barriers, including the simplification of legislation , to diversify funding sources for SMEs, in order to promote SMEs’ ability to access equity markets, and to reduce the existing debt bias; points out that the current situation makes SMEs more fragile and vulnerableEmphasises that, due to their size, the overwhelming majority of SMEs will continue to rely on bank lending as their sole source of finance; supports, however, measures to diversify funding sources for start-ups and those SMEs that can access equity financing due to their relatively large size or high growth prospects;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that the efficiency of financial markets should be improved and that the listing of companies should be facilitated; encourages the creation and prioritis2. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study and impact assessment of new ways of providing equity financing to those SMEs that are capable to benefit from it by virtue of their size or growth prospects; such a study should examine options like, among others, the creation of a large public-private pan- European fund, an Initial Public Offering (IPO) Fund, to support SMEs or the expansion of mezzanine financing;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the acceleration of the development of EU venture capital (VC) and private equity markets by increasing the availability of funding for VC investments, developing larger late-stage VC funds, tax incentive schepublic programmes for VC and business angel investments, and active IPO markets for VC-backed companies;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the need to remove the existing equity-debt bias in corporate taxation which drives up leverage and encourages the use of complex financial instruments, increasing systemic risks in capital markets; considers that such tax distortions should be addressed by limiting the tax deductibility of interest, rather than introducing new corporate tax deductions for equity costs, which would result in greater losses of corporate income tax revenues without a real impact on value creation;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to ensure full consistency and coherence of the CMU Action Plan with the EU sustainability objectives, including the EU Taxonomy for sustainable investments, and the imperative need to channel capital flows towards long-term sustainable investments, especially in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery and the ecological transition; recommends to prioritise actions aimed at promoting access to ESG products and impact investing strategies, as well as measures to improve corporate governance and long-term shareholder and stakeholder engagement;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Requests the realignment of the treatment of cash and synthetic securitisations, of the treatment of regulatory capital and liquidity with that of covered bonds and loans, as well as with the disclosure and due diligence requirements for covered bonds and sNotes with concern the proposals put forward by the HLF on CMU for stimulating securitisation aim to circumvent the treatment of regulatory capital and liquidity, including the new Basel III framework, since it would endanger financial stability and amplify systemic risks, without any added value for the real economy; underlines that synthetic securitisations are highly complex, opaque and risky and that it would be misleading to include them under the definition of Simple, tTransparent and sStandardised (STS) securitisation; further stresses that granting to synthetic securitisations a preferential treatment would not be justified from a prudential perspective;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for targeted measures within securities market legislation to expedite the recovery after the COVID-19 crisis; supports changes in the Prospectus Regulation, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID), the Securitisation Regulation and the Market Abuse Regulation to facilitate investments in the real economy, in particular in SMEs, and to allow newcomers and new products to enter the markets, preserving consumer protection and market integrityEmphasises that a prime objective of securities market legislation is to safeguard transparency and market integrity to ensure a high degree of investor confidence and protection; stresses that the review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID) should not be used to promote financial deregulation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission, in light of the Wirecard accounting scandal, to review the Audit Directive as soon as possible to eliminate the perverse incentives that arise because the auditor is paid by the audited company to which it also often tries to sell consulting services; we further call upon the Commission to investigate whether the oligopoly on the audit market prevents effective control;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Asks the Member States to amend their national tax frameworks, in order to reduce taxStresses that different national tax frameworks and harmful tax competition within the EU undermine the sustainability of the CMU and the level playing field and that they are one of the key obstacles to cross- border investments, including withholding tax procedures, and to increase financing by investors to long-term investment opportunities thereby improving returns on long-term savings; believes that an EU-wide withholding tax would be desirable; emphasises that the integration of EU capital markets increases the urgency of adopting a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and ensuring the level playing field for EU citizenompanies;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the importance of increasing legal certainty for cross-border investments by makharmonising national insolvency proceedings more efficient and effective;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the need to promote pension provision; wWelcomes the Pan- European Personal Pension (PEPP) product; reminds Member States that PEPPs need toshould be subject to the same tax treatment as national pension products to become an option for saverwhere existing national tax relief policies have proven to be efficient and restricted to low income groups or groups with insufficient access to other collective retirement systems;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Encourages the Member States to promote multi-pillar pension systems, including occupational pension schemes, as a way to improve market dynamics and the incentives to invest; believes thatStresses the need to ensure that all European citizens can enjoy safe and adequate pensions, and that public and collective social security systems - play and shall continue to play a primary role in this, especially for low and middle- income segments of the population;; believes that the development of private pension products should be revitalised and made more attractiveensure high consumer protection standards and transparency; encourages the participation of investors in long-term products with tax reduction or exemption policies;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls that the Solvency 2 Directive requires a review by the end of 2020 and that the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) will provide technical advice to the Commission after consultations with different stakeholders; requests the Commission and EIOPA to consider adjusting the capital requirements for investments in equity and private debt, in particular of SMEstresses that this opportunity should be used to strengthen the financial stability of the insurance sector and the protection of policyholders;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Commission to submit as soon as possible a legislative proposal for a European Single Access Point for financial and non-financial information in respect to listed and unlisted EU companies, while respecting the proportionality principle, where appropriate; believes that ESMA, in close cooperation with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, should be put in charge of such a project and that the information provided must, from the start, be based on integrated reporting, including urgently needed comparable, standardised and transparent information related to environmental sustainability as defined in the Taxonomy Regulation as well as information related to the social and governance aspects of sustainability, in line with the Regulation of sustainability-related disclosure for financial services and the Non-Financial Reporting Directive;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the need for European and national supervisory authorities to overcome their differences; calls for regulatory and supervisory convergence to promote a common European model, guided by the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA), to reduce the existing obstacles tomore effective a joint supervision model under the guidance of the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA), to ensure adequate oversight of cross-border financial operations; believes that ESMA should be granted more far-reaching powers and resources, especially additional direct supervision powers of large financial market participants and further product intervention power in the area of cross- border financial operations; activity; believes that ESMA's Board of Supervisors should include independent members to limit the risk of conflict of interest of national supervisory authorities and increase the effectiveness of supervision at the EU level;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes that financial services regulation is a very complex undertaking, with regulation at international, European and national level; encourages all relevant actors to address this complexity to ensure the proportionality of financial regulation and to remove unnecessary administrative burdens;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights the benefits for the further integration of EU capital markets to evolve over time towards a Twin Peaks model of supervision, with separate mandates for prudential supervision and consumer protection across sectors in order to improve the effectiveness of supervision of large financial conglomerates reduce the complexity of the European supervisory framework and ensure stronger consumer and investor protection across the EU;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is concernedBelieves that retail investors’ engagement with financial markets remains low; calls for measures to promote retail investments in view of the demographic challenges faced by the EU by increasing the participation of retail investors in capital markets through more attractive and appropriate personal pension products can play a major role in the shift towards long-term stable and sustainable capital markets inconsideration of their long- term investment horizon and sustainability preferences; Is concerned that retail investors’ engagement with sustainable financial markets remains low due to lack of information and lack of financial advice on suitable sustainable investment products; calls for measures to stimulate the supply of simple and transparent sustainable investment and personal pension products, and for measures to ensure that financial advice is reliable and unbiased;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that access to financial markets should be possible for all enterprises under the ‘same business, same rules’ principlethe legislation on financial markets, including in the field of digital finance, should be based on the ‘same business, same rules’ principle, in order to minimise the potential for regulatory arbitrage and ensure a level playing field across financial services;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Underlines that the existence of inconsistencies under different consumer and investor protection rules hinders the possibility to achieve a truly integrated and well-functioning CMU; stresses the need for more horizontal and harmonised consumer protection and business conduct rules, in order to ensure effective and consistent levels of protection across all financial products;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recalls the existence of different shortcomings and inconsistencies in the legislation on packaged retail investment and insurance products (PRIIPs) that should be addressed in the next review in order to improve transparency, comparability and eliminate misleading information; expects that Level 2 PRIIPs legislation on the Key Investor Document to respect level 1 legislation, in particular in relation to the performance scenarios and the PRIIPs with specific environmental or social objectives; regrets the delays in the adoption of Level 2 PRIIPs legislation that will overlap with the first review of PRIIPs, and which increases legal uncertainty and costs for stakeholders;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is of the opinion that the current reporting framework within MIFID II and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) is very costly and complex, hindering the effectiveness of the system; believes that a simplification thereof is necessarycertain disclosure regimes within MIFID II and PRIIPs may be too complex and misleading and lack comparability, hindering the effectiveness of the disclosure and increasing the risk of mis- selling; believes that a simplification and further standardisation thereof is necessary in order to improve transparency and comparability of investment products; stresses, however, that this should not compromise the scope and quality of information;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for amendments to legislation to ensure access to reliable independent advice by financial intermediariefor all investment products by retail clients while avoiding promotion of the institution’s own financial products and ensuring a fair marketing of financial products; suitable and affordable financial products from third party product providers in the clients’ best interests; believes that comparable investment products, such as insurance products, should be subject to the same inducement rules as under MiFID II; points out that there is little evidence that the current MIFID II disclosure regime on inducements has had a positive impact on client’s behaviour2a; calls for a EU- wide ban on inducements to avoid potential conflict of interests; _________________ 2a https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/f iles/library/call_for_evidence_impact_of_t he_inducements_and_costs_and_charges _disclosure_requirements_under_mifid_ii __0.pdf
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Underlines that mystery shopping is an important supervisory tool which can considerably improve the consistency and effectiveness of consumer protection across the EU; invites ESMA to make full use of its new coordination power by promoting EU-wide mystery shopping exercises to identify mis-selling practices and to ensure that any findings of non- compliance with consumer protection and business conduct rules is followed by appropriate enforcement actions;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that financial education is needed to overcome low retail investor engagement with financial markets, based on lack of knowledge, mistrust and risk aversion; can help empower individuals to make more conscious financial choices in line with their preferences, especially in light of the increasingly easy access to risky investment products provided by digitalisation;, considers that financial education should increase awareness of opportunities as well as risks and increase the ability to choose between and compare affordable and individually suitable long- term investment products, while also taking sustainability aspects into account; underlines that it should address the social and gender dimension and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to handlings one's financial affairs because people of different incomes and wealth levels have different tolerance for risk;
Amendment 284 #
21. Emphasises, however, that financial education is a medium-term tool, which enrichose effects are limited due to inevitable cognitive biases, the speed of change in financial markets and their sheer complexity; stresses theat financial system and which is a good step for engaging retail investors with financial markeeducation cannot replace access to reliable and impartial professional financial advice, and that it can therefore only play a supplementary role to strong financial regulation and supervision, enforceable codes of conduct for financial intermediaries, and rules that require the provision of relevant and understandable information about investment products;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Commission to promote the development of employee share ownership and profit sharing, as a tool to improve corporate governance and companies’ sustainability, while reducing inequality as well as the risk of job losses during downturns; stresses that such measures should come on top of fixed salaries and benefits and should not distract from the need to ensure that workers' salaries guarantee them a decent living wage;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Member States to include financial literacy programs in school curricula aimed at developing autonomy in financial matters; suggests the inclusion of this topic in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Takes the view that the digitalisation of financial services can be a catalyst for the mobilisation of capital in the EU while reducing barriers and costs and increasing competition and supervisory efficiency; emphasises that an EU framework with high standards of cybersecurity would be conducive to the, market integrity and investor protection is essential for the further development of a sustainable and well-functioning CMU;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Highlights that the Wirecard’s scandal is a warning that ‘sandboxes’ may beused ans adequate tool to enhance the innovation and competitiveness of the financial services sector; requests that the Commission cre may pose significant risks to consumer and investor protection and enable financial fraud; requests thate a pan-European ‘sandbox’ for financial servicestart-ups in the area of Fintech should seek to strike a balance between the objective of fostering innovation and financial stability and the protection of investors and consumers, while taking into account the size, systemic significance and cross-border activity of the firms;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Stresses the need to appoint a single European supervisor for oversight of crypto-assets related activities in the European Union, based on a common rulebook and product intervention powers;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Points out that Europe competes for capital in a global market, and that, as aintegrated, well- resgult, deeper, more integratedated, stable and efficient European capital markets are critical to protecting Europe’s economic sovereignty, in a number of areas, including the use of the euro in third countries, and to attracting foreign investors;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reiterates that EU legislation provides for the possibility of considering third-country rules as equivalent based on a proportional and risk-based analysis, and that such decisions should be taken through a delegated act; recalls that the EU can unilaterally withdraw any equivalence decisionstresses that, in order to preserve financial stability, the level playing field and the protection of investors and consumers in the EU in the post-Brexit context, the equivalence decisions with the EU regulatory framework should be comprehensive and coherent and be accompanied by enhanced supervisory powers over third countries financial entities; recalls that the EU can unilaterally withdraw any equivalence decision and that any divergence from the EU regulatory standards should be closely monitored;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls for action towards strengthening the international role and the use of the euro, by completing Economic and Monetary Union, the CMU and the Banking Union, supporting the development of euro-benchmarks for commodity markets, and reinforcing the role of the euro as a reference currencyPoints out that completing and strengthening Economic and Monetary Union, the CMU and the Banking Union could increase international use of the euro;