Outlook for Financial Market Reform in the European Union

What are the key issues for European Union policymakers and regulators regarding financial market reform? Virginie Saade, our Head of Government Regulatory and Policy for EMEA, joins Stephen Berger, Global Head of Government and Regulatory Policy, in part one of a conversation about the changing landscape in EU and UK markets with Virginie and Donna Rix, General Counsel International.​

As Virginie explains, “What they are trying to do here is to make the real economy rely less on bank lending and more on financial markets, which is certainly the case in the United States.” As she notes, the quickening pace for EU market reform includes four key components: transparency and the trading regime, the clearing landscape, the listing rules, and efforts to expand retail participation in the EU. “All these reforms… are at the core of the Capital Markets Union, and that is the overarching goal, I would say, of the European Union,” says Virginie, “So, basically, they are trying to make our markets more attractive, streamlined and competitive.”