Europe

Image: The Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, is calling for debate around whether financial institutions should set aside more capital to help them weather any potential losses. “[Capital requirements] will be 10x higher than pre-crisis. Should they be higher still? Right question for tomorrow. We need that debate,” Haldane tweeted in a recent question-and-answer session to promote an upcoming BoE event. Details inside.

Image: European companies may now find it easier to file potential damages suits against Google, thanks to an independent platform calling on individuals and entities to proffer any civil claims regarding Google’s anticompetitive behavior. The “Google Redress and Integrity Platform” comes at a time when Google is facing several investigations and a fine of up to £4.3 billion from the European Commission, according to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. More inside.

Image: Bankers are claiming new EU privacy laws may end up doing more harm than good, as they will prevent banks from detecting fraud and terrorist financing. Consumer rights groups disagree, arguing that the updated laws will pave the way for more transparency and force banks to behave more responsibly with data. One year ago, EU Justice Commissioner Martine Reicherts said the rules would replace a hodgepodge of regulatory frameworks with one clear roadmap. Details inside.

Image: In light of increased enforcement activities across Europe, particularly increased enforcement cooperation among foreign jurisdictions and around the world, European corporations are subjected to overlapping and often similar—but not identical—regulatory requirements. In our latest podcast, we talk to Tiffany Moseley, partner in Kaye Scholer’s litigation practice, about internal investigations and data privacy in Europe. Listen here.

Image: New EU legislation covering banker pay that will be applied across all member states is causing some rift in the industry. Wim Mijs, chief executive of the European Banking Federation, said the rules may lead to a “heavy administrative burden.” He is calling on the European commissioner responsible for regulating executive compensation to reconsider the legislation. Details inside.

The foreign markets manipulation debacle may drag on, with no end in sight. In the wake of a recent landmark legal settlement where top banks, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, and Barclays, agreed to a £1.28 billion settlement in the rate-rigging scandal, lawyers and analysts are warning it’s just a matter of time before corporations, fund managers, and others come forward with claims in London, the largest foreign exchange trading center in the world. More inside.

The European Central Bank has extended its review of banks’ internal risk models up to four years. The banking supervisor plans on conducting a thorough examination on how some of the Eurozone’s biggest banks are calculating its capital. Deutsche Bank, Santander, and Société Générale are some of the financial institutions that the ECB currently oversees. Details inside.

Image: The Financial Conduct Authority released “near final rules” which shows how it will apply the new accountability regimes that hold employees accountable for misconduct in U.K. branches of overseas banks. These rules further explain the FCA’s accountability reform announcement last month that zeroes in on top executives at U.K. banks. Details inside.