EU Commission recommends public release of country-by-country reporting for banks

The European Commission has concluded that public dissemination of country-by-country reporting by banks will not have a negative impact on the economy, paving the way for public release of the data by  January 1, 2015.

“At this stage, the public country-by-country reporting of information under Article 89 of Directive 2013/36/EU is not expected to have significant negative economic impact, in particular on competitiveness, investment, credit availability or the stability of the financial system. On the contrary, it seems that there could be some limited positive impact,” the Commission concluded in a report to the European Parliament and the Council, released October 30.

Article 89 requires banks to publish country-by-country data beginning January 1, 2015, but also stipulates that the Commission must assess the economic effects of the public disclosure in a report to the European Parliament due December 31. If the Commission foresaw a negative impact on the economy, the Commission could delay public release of the data.

According to the report, though, not only does country-by-country reporting not have negative impact, it would have the positive effect of helping restore trust in the banking sector.

The Commission based its conclusions on input from a public consultation, a round table,  an external study prepared by PwC, and consultations with the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the European Securities and Markets Authority.

See,

 

Related articles: