Supply chain finance (SCF) is vital for EU working capital but operates within a fragmented and opaque regulatory framework. Recent high-profile failures in or otherwise affecting the SCF market have exposed critical structure weaknesses, including inconsistent private-law rules, insufficient transparency beyond securitisation and uneven operational safeguards. These issues obscure leverage, create liquidity risks and complicate cross-border enforceability, significantly impeding the Single Market.
This article advocates for a proportionate, targeted EU SCF Regulation. It proposes a framework encompassing harmonised definitions, calibrated data and disclosure standards via light-touch repositories and enhanced private-law certainty, including a uniform conflicts-of-law rule and an interoperable e-notice mechanism. These reforms would substantially improve legal certainty, transparency and market stability, ultimately lowering funding costs, increasing small and medium-sized enterprises access to finance and advancing the EU’s Savings and Investments Union objectives.