Competitiveness
Overregulation causes high costs. This is one of the reasons why the European asset management industry is falling further and further behind the global competition. Therefore, deregulation and reduction of bureaucracy are necessary at both national and EU level.
BVI has been calling for more principle-based rules for years. This is because the large number of detailed rules, which often bring no added value for investors and are sometimes even contradictory, cause disproportionately high costs. For example, there is no money for IT investments. This is one of the reasons why the European asset management industry is falling further and further behind the global competition. The inadequate impact assessment of new laws on companies makes the situation worse. The consequences only become apparent after implementation in practice. Experimental regulation at the expense of the industry must be stopped.
The EU also needs to be bold and deregulate. Two years ago, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a standardised competitiveness check for EU legislation. However, no action has followed since then. It is therefore good that the new EU Financial Markets Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque wants to critically assess regulatory projects. She should start with the EU Retail Investment Strategy, and not even let it become law. The proposal does not achieve any important political objectives, such as getting retail investors to the capital markets or improving investor protection. All that remains is bureaucracy for providers, customers, and supervisors. It is easier to prevent new bureaucracy than to reduce existing one.
