As part of the 4th United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development being held in Seville, the side event "Enabling Environments for Resilient Infrastructure Development: B20 - Business at OECD - ICC policy recommendations to mobilise private finance" has brought together various members of the international banking industry
The involvement of the Spanish banking industry together with the banking associations underscored the crucial role of the financial sector as the basis for the international success of economies and the prosperity of their workers and companies, which multiplies its positive effect on growth and employment through financing
AEB and CECA have urged greater regulatory consistency and proportionality coupled with streamlining financing to spur competitiveness
The banking associations AEB and CECA advocate regulatory simplification in the banking industry which would enable progress in investment and business competitiveness. This is the message conveyed at the event “Enabling Environments for Resilient Infrastructure Development: B20 - Business at OECD - ICC policy recommendations to mobilise private finance" at the 4th United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville.
In particular, they point to the need for a consistent and standardised international regulatory framework both to prevent fragmentation and also to unlock private sector funding for resilient infrastructure.
To this end, in line with the recommendations of the Business at OECD (BIAC) Advisory Group in the paper Business Priorities for the OECD Finance Agenda, they call for a common, stable and risk-based international regulatory environment founded on striking a balance between proportionality and effectiveness.
AEB and CECA argue that this is essential for the banking industry to effectively play its proactive role in financing sustainable and lasting economic growth. Likewise, and echoing the recommendations of Business at OECD (BIAC) to the OECD, they point out that the temporary introduction of extraordinary taxes on banking industry profits may have unwanted consequences for financial stability, as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also noted, due to their negative impact on the ability to provide financing to households, businesses and SMEs and additionally on the resilience of institutions to potential economic shocks.
They further warn of the effects of the regulatory and fiscal asymmetries produced by these ad hoc taxes on the economy as a whole due to the absence of legal certainty and the consequences for foreign investment