Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-26-Speech-1-106"
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"en.20050926.14.1-106"2
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".
Mr President, I thank the Members for their very constructive comments regarding this very important piece of legislation and, as I said at the outset, I congratulate Mr Radwan and the shadow rapporteurs for their work and the deep, intensive and very technical work done by the committee on this
complex subject.
I am also pleased to inform you that the Commission can fully support the compromise which has been reached on these amendments. The package which is now before the plenary is a fair compromise, taking into account the discussions between the Council and Parliament, and it will also enjoy the strong support of the banking industry. Furthermore, the solutions proposed are well-balanced and respect the Commission's initial intentions for this legislation.
I agree with those speakers who stressed the importance of this particular directive. What will be good for the financial institutions will be good for economic growth, employment, the economy and for increased financial stability. Sometimes members of the public look at matters relating to banks and financial institutions with rather a jaundiced eye and see them as charging excessive interest and making huge profits at their expense. However, if it were not for banks and credit institutions, there would be no great economic success. Therefore it is in everybody's interests – including the various actors and stakeholders – that we have a properly regulated financial sector and that risk is properly assessed. It is also important for depositors. This is the flipside of lending, since, if no one placed money in banks, there would be no money to lend. For the very same reasons, it is also important for shareholders and investors. It is also important for the employees of the financial institutions. Therefore, what will be good for the banking sector will be good for us all.
A recent study estimated that banks would have reduced capital requirements of about EUR 80 to 120 billion as a result of the proposed directive. It is also said that this directive will reduce the capital requirements for loans to SMEs by more than 50%. This Parliament has tabled amendments to our proposals that improve the rules for retail and SME lending still further. Some speakers referred to the question of Islamic mortgages. We need rules to ensure that such loans do not fall between the cracks and escape regulation altogether.
Mr Ryan and Mrs Lulling raised questions about mortgage bonds or asset-covered bonds. I note that the further flexibility introduced by Parliament's amendments will reduce regulatory constraints for so-called covered bonds still further and this is a good result for the markets.
Some other Members – in particular Mrs Berès and Mr Purvis – raised the question of a level playing field for Europe and the United States. Firstly, I would like to point out that the small and medium-sized American banks have asked for the benefits of Basle II also to be extended to them and I understand that the United States is on the verge of making such proposals within the next month.
Secondly, as regards this level playing field, all the big American banks which are in direct competition with European globally-operating banks will be covered by the Basle framework.
I take on board, however, what Mr Purvis and Mrs Berès said, not only in this particular regard, but also in other areas relating to the United States. I know that Mrs Berès has taken a particularly keen interest in this matter and it is something that I bear in mind.
Just about every speaker referred to the general question of comitology. Mr Radwan can take particular pleasure and pride in having brought this issue to the forefront of the debate and in having extended it into other areas as well.
As regards comitology, I note with satisfaction that the rapporteur is putting forward a helpful and constructive proposal here and I hope that, not only with this directive but in other areas as well, we can bring the matter to a successful conclusion, with the cooperation of the various actors."@en1
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