Last month, the European Banking Federation (EBF) published a comprehensive Report on the Integration of European Financial Services Markets. As a full member of the Federation, the Malta Bankers’ Association participated in the formulation of the Report and endorsed its recommendations.

In its Report, the banking industry underlines its active commitment to the integration process, and its conviction that full integration of financial markets will benefit all economic players, consumers and businesses alike. As such the EBF calls for urgent further integration of the EU financial services markets on the grounds that integration is a driver for efficiency and thus for improved competitiveness of the industry on a global scale.

In its Integration Report, the EBF does not just analyse the obstacles to integration. It offers concrete proposals on some of the main challenges faced by industry and policy-makers on the path to achieving integration. Eight priorities for action have been identified to release the potential of the single market. Amongst them are the removal of barriers to cross-border consolidation, achieving a level playing-field among different market participants, making consolidated prudential supervision work, and reforming the VAT treatment of financial services.

The Integration Report is available from the EBF’s website: www.ebf-fbe.eu