The EU’s flagship Capital Markets Union (CMU) intends to stimulate the free flow of capital in the EU.
Earlier this year, the European Commission kick-started the project by launching three different consultations on ways of unclogging investment into European companies and building a single EU market for capital that relies less heavily on bank funding.
The consultations closed in May and the Commission is now expected to publish a CMU ‘Action Plan’. The plan, due on 30 September, will set out proposed actions under 6 key themes ranging from increasing bank lending to creating more opportunities for retail investors.
According to early drafts we have seen (and which are subject to change), we can expect a legislative package on securitisation (including amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation and Solvency II capital requirements) on the 30th; as well as other amendments to Solvency II to facilitate investment into infrastructure. This will be followed by a legislative proposal amending the EU Prospectus Directive. The latter should make it easier for companies to make public offers.
For the rest, there seem to be many, many options on the table on which the action plan will hopefully give some clarity. These include (take a deep breath here): measures to support venture capital and equity financing; an industry code on private placements; fostering the creation and marketing of EU infrastructure funds; creating a pan-European private pension- and covered bond framework; enhancing the cross-border marketing of investment funds; changes to the Settlement Finality Directive and the Financial Collateral Directive….to name but a few.
We will keep you posted. See you on the 30th!