Articles by author
The evolution of the ESFS in a time of armed conflict: legal foundations, policy options and practical considerations
The EU remains, by design and aspiration, a project of peace. Yet a deteriorating global security environment requires policymakers, supervisors and private-sector actors to contemplate an unprecedented question: how would the European System of Financial Supervision function (ESFS) – and how might it have to evolve – were the EU or NATO drawn into armed conflict? This article analyses, from a legal and strategic perspective, the extraordinary measures that could be deployed to safeguard the Single Market for financial services in wartime. After setting out the relevant treaty bases, the discussion examines: (i) emergency legislation and supervisory override of business-as-usual (SOBAU); (ii) likely pathways towards further institutional centralisation; (iii) the special role of emergency money – ranging from historic Notgeld to a future Digital Euro with offline functionality; and (iv) the preparedness agenda for financial institutions. The contribution concludes that pre-emptive legal clarity, coupled with rigorous private-sector contingency planning, is indispensable if Europe’s financial architecture is to remain resilient under the most extreme of circumstances.
29 SEP 2025Out of scope: Scope Ratings’ appeal against ESMA fine fails
In a December 2020 decision published on 12 January 2021, the Joint Board of Appeal (BoA) of the European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (together the European Supervisory Authorities) dismissed an appeal1 brought by Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) against ESMA’s May 2020 decision to impose a €640,000 fine.2 In this article the authors assess the implications of the decision.
1 APR 2021Geopolitical uncertainty: managing market shutdown risks
The renewed Russian invasion of the Ukraine is placing a stark emphasis on financial market participants and also on trading venues needing to have sufficient resilience to weather operational and digital risks – and also to ensure they have fallbacks in place if the power goes out. This is separate to consideration on sanctions and their impact on financial market participants.1 In this Spotlight article, Michael Huertas considers the steps financial market participants need to take in anticipation of a power supply failure, a cyber-attack and military conflict. He draws comparison with the position in France and Germany.
1 APR 2022Supervisory tone sharpens further following ECB’s conclusions on its Desk Mapping Review
In this article, Dr Michael Huertas considers the impact on non-EU headquartered banking entities of the findings of the ECB-SSM’s Desk Mapping Review (Review). The Review assesses the governance and risk management capabilities of the EU operations of such non-EU headquartered entities.
1 SEP 2022
