The EU proposal for a Capital Market Union: The forceful comeback of the bankers

Join the discussion on March 7 @Crea in Amsterdam. This evening explores the true nature of the proposed Capital Markets Union: What is it? What are its origins and who benefits from it? Plus, what impact will it have on financialisation in Europe? The event is being organised by Real World Economics, with the cooperation of SOMO researcher-speaker Rodrigo Fernandez.

While the public debate is currently dominated by immigration issues and culture wars, the lobby machinery of the financial industry has steadily been gaining ground in the EU. The Commission’s launch of a Green Paper in 2015 for a Capital Market Union (CMU) shows that the window of opportunity to re-regulate finance has now definitely been closed.

The CMU proposal is sold under the pretext of enhancing the access to credit of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), but it is actually a ploy to lower capital requirements for securitized mortgages and unroll a broad agenda to (re)deregulate finance further in the EU.

While securitization – and shadow banking more broadly – initially had been widely perceived as a part of the problem of the banking sector extending too much credit, in the aftermath of the crisis, policy makers in the EU once again promote it as a safe and efficient channel for credit intermediation.

Speakers

• Ewald Engelen, University of Amsterdam
• Caroline Metz, University of Manchester
• Anna Glasmacher, University of Amsterdam
• Rodrigo Fernandez, University of Leuven & SOMO

When: March 7, 20:00

Location: CREA, Nieuwe Achtergracht 170 Amsterdam(opens in new window)

For more information: r.fernandez@somo.nl