FBE

1
FBE

• WTO Financial Services Seminar
• Banking services towards further
  liberalisation
• Geneva
• 1011 October 2001

2
FBE

• Frédéric de Brouwer
• Legal Advisor
• European Banking Federation
• Rue Montoyer 10
• B-1000 Brussels
• Tel [phone] Fax [phone]
• Email f.debrouwer_at_fbe.be
• Website www.fbe.be

3
FBE

• The European Banking Federation was created in
  1960.
• Its Members are the Banking Associations of the
  15 EU Member States as well as that of
  Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
• It represents the interests of approximately
  3,000 commercial banks in Europe.

4
STATE OF PLAY

• December 1997 first multilateral liberalisation
  agreement for financial services signed by 102
  WTO member countries (fifth Annex to the GATS).
• Supported by the financial services industry of
  the industrial countries through the Financial
  Leaders Group.
• GATS 2000 negotiations slow progress due to the
  failure of the WTO Ministerial meeting in Seattle
  in 1999 to launch a more comprehensive round of
  negotiations.

5
STATE OF PLAY

• Adoption of general negotiating guidelines for
  the GATS services sectors.
• Presentation of negotiation proposals by some
  industrial countries and the EU.
• Next step Ministerial meeting in Doha, Quatar in
  November. Further attempt to launch a more
  comprehensive round of negotiations.

6
OBJECTIVES

• Ratification and implementation of the 1997
  Financial Services Agreement by all signatory
  countries.
• Grandfathering of existing investments by Member
  countries that did not commit to do so in the
  1997 Financial Services Agreement.
• Improvement of Right of Establishment (Mode 3 of
  GATS).
• Further liberalisation of market access via mode
  1 (cross-border trade) and mode 2 (consumption of
  services abroad) The E-Commerce case.

7
OBJECTIVES

• Facilitation of E-commerce.
• Improvement of Movement of Personnel.
• Clarification of the Prudential Carve-Out of
  the 1997 Financial Services Agreement.
• Promotion of Fair and Transparent regulation an
  EU example the Lamfalussy Report.

8
Improvement of Right of Establishment

• Restrictions on corporate form.
• Obstacles to majority ownership.
• Limits on majority ownership and control of joint
  ventures by foreign firms.
• Obstacles to expansion.
• Economic needs tests for investments.
• Prohibitions and limitations on establishing and
  licensing of commercial presence.

9
Further liberalisation of market access (modes 1
2)

• Discriminatory capital requirements.
• Limitations on cross-border access (right to buy
  and sell financial products).
• Lengthy and difficult approval for new products.
• Restrictions on foreign exchange.
• Limitations to trading in domestic stocks.

10
Facilitation of E-Commerce

• Technology-neutrality.
• Transparency and Adaptability of Regulation.
• International consistency of Regulation.

11
Improvement of Movement of Personnel

• Common definitions of key business personnel.
• Transparent processes.
• Common terms for intra-company transfers.
• Provision for short-term movement of key business
  personnel.
• Co-ordinated treatment of modes 1, 3 4.

12
Clarification of the Prudential Carve-Out

• Negative list of discriminatory measures that
  cannot be justified for prudential reasons.

13
Promotion of Fair and Transparent Regulation

• Rules, regulations and licensing requirements
  should be imposed only for the purpose of
  achieving legitimate public policy objectives
  that are expressly identified.
• Regulations should be clear and understandable.
• Regulations should be enforced in a fair and
  non-discriminatory manner.
• Regulations should be publicly available at any
  time.