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Capital Market Union: looking for real progress beyond the blame game
On 11 April 2024, in a conference room in Brussels, we sat down for an EU-organised roundtable on retail participation in the Capital Markets.
It was the culmination of a year-long effort by product providers to engage with distributors and consumer associations, under the sponsorship of the European Commission in a dialogue about improving participation in the EU Capital Markets. It was also a parting shot for Commissioner McGuiness who expressed frustration with the industry, and an occasion for consumer associations to press for deeper change.
Are we witnessing two irreconcilable positions, or the opportunity to build bridges?
Wide consensus behind an industry-driven discussion paper
When the European Commission released its Strategic Foresight Report in July 2023, it highlighted the lack of capital for the transformation that our continent is facing, with annual needs estimated at €620bn for the Green Deal and RepowerEU alone, and another €125bn for the digital transition.
Governments have very little capacity left, having spent their way out of the COVID crisis and now the war in Ukraine, so it is more and more obvious that the needed investment shall have to come from private sources.
With household financial assets in the EU exceeding €30,000bn and annual savings of over €1,000bn, the pool of savings does exist – but...
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