The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has today announced that, Thalia Chryssikou, Head of Global Sales Strats & Structuring at Goldman Sachs, has been appointed as Chair of the Board. She takes over from Michael Cole-Fontayn who has been a member of the AFME Board since 2011 and served as Chair between September 2015 and June 2021. Adam Farkas, AFME Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome Thalia as AFME’s new Chair. Thalia brings a wealth of knowledge from her over 20-year career in financial services and technology at Goldman Sachs that equips her to lead the AFME Board as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. She is also a passionate advocate of supporting female talent which is a priority for AFME and the financial services industry as a whole.” “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Michael for his service and dedication to AFME. Michael is a strong supporter of Europe’s capital markets, having passionately promoted the “E” in AFME during his decade on the AFME Board. Under Michael’s Chairmanship, AFME has established a reputation as an expert and credible voice for Europe's wholesale financial markets across a broad range of regulatory and capital markets issues. He has been a very engaged and committed Chair and we wish him well in his next endeavour as an independent Director on the Board of JPMorgan Securities PLC.” ThaliaChryssikousaid: “I am delighted and honoured to be taking up the role of Chair at AFME at such a pivotal time. The enormous potential for transformation of the European economy through digitalisation and decarbonisation will require unprecedented levels of investment and finance. AFME has a key role to play in helping to shape European financial regulation to promote deep and integrated capital markets to serve the needs of companies and investors in this task. I look forward to acting on behalf of all our members to enable our financial markets to rise to this challenge.” Michael Cole-Fontayn said: “It has been a true pleasure and honour to serve the AFME Board over the last six years. During this time, Europe’s capital markets have faced unprecedented challenges from Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, and I am very proud of the work AFME has done in informing the policy debate around the future of Europe’s capital markets, as well as working with regulators and the industry in support of the growth agenda.” – Ends –

A new set of principles published today by the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) provides, for the first time, a global, actionable set of principles that are recommended to be considered by officials and the private sector when developing regional and sector-specific Climate Finance taxonomies. “Global Guiding Principles for Developing Climate Finance Taxonomies – A Key Enabler for Transition Finance” acknowledges that to meet the $3–5 trillion+ per year in global investment needed to decarbonize the global economy, a necessary shift of the Climate Finance Market Structure must focus more on the need for more transition finance, including “green” equity to support low-emissions projects, recognizing that 35% of the funding needed to meet the Paris 2C requirements is required from equity, alongside 44% from loans and 21% in bonds. There is recognition by G20, G7 and local economies now more than ever that climate finance market structure must grow at an unprecedented scale, speed, and geographic scope to meet the investment needs to transition to a low carbon economy for the benefit of economic growth and the viability of communities around the world. Collectively all market participants must strive towards the development of consistent, comparable, and reliable taxonomies to enable capital markets financing to be mobilized at the scale and pace necessary for an effective transition. Steve Ashley, Nomura Head of Wholesale Division and Chairman of GFMA, said: “The banking and capital markets sector recognises the importance of sound taxonomies that support change and transition. Here we offer five principles to act as a guide to help unlock the potential and encourage investment in climate finance.” All existing and new taxonomies should be assessed against five global principles: Climate Finance taxonomies should be broadened beyond use of proceeds structures (e.g. green bonds) to capture entity-level activities and all eligible sources of capital. Climate Finance taxonomies should be objective in nature, supported by clearly defined metrics and thresholds aligned to theParis Agreement, and science-based targets. Climate Finance taxonomies should have a consistent set of principles and definitions, but provide flexibility for regional and temporal variation to align with differences in transition pathways. Climate Finance metrics should be defined and applied to sectors using science-based targets, balancing ease of use with transparency and robustness to both assess climate impact and support third-party verification. Climate Finance taxonomies should be based on a governance process that is robust, inclusive, and transparent, and has the flexibility for continued evolution. Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., CEO of GFMA and president and CEO of SIFMA, said: “Debt instruments alone, such as green bonds, cannot meet the $150 trillion required to meet the 2050 goals stipulated by the Paris agreement nor the more recent G7 ministers’ commitment to the 30x30 initiative. Equity finance plays a critical role in enabling a corporation’s ability to mobilize capital toward transition pathways. To unlock these sources of capital, we need a broader definition of climate finance that captures equity financing and working capital, which is not easily linked to a specific underlying economic activity. However, to avoid greenwashing, it is important to have consensus on global principles, which leads to increased confidence in monitoring how cross-border Climate Finance taxonomies are designed and capital may be invested. In the report we offer solutions to broaden the set of eligible sources of capital in Climate Finance taxonomies, while identifying global guiding principles that support preserving the integrity and accountability in capital markets.” Developing effective Climate Finance taxonomies are contingent on regional and sector-specific science-based transition pathways that clearly outline the technology paths and interim and final targets. Science-based targets (SBT) at the regional and/or sector level, rather than overarching global targets, should be used to inform threshold calibration. This will allow for regional and temporal variation in the application of taxonomies, without compromising global consistency and ease of use by international stakeholders, mitigating the risk of transition activities from being considered climate-aligned and isolating hard-to-abate sectors from investment. The exclusion of transition and enabling activities from scope of Climate Finance taxonomies will only result in a “wait and see” approach in the real economy—and corporates may also defer investment decisions until there is significant advancement in underlying technology for an activity. SBT transition pathways also reinforce the importance of the role of equity eligibility, as equity and other sources of patient capital are often needed to fund longer-term investment in R&D in low-GHG technologies and provide sufficient levels of loss absorbency to support the raising of debt finance. Roy Choudhury, Managing Director and Partner of BCG said: “The report acknowledges that there is no ‘silver bullet’ for the creation of a global taxonomy. A successful framework is one that recognizes regional and sector-specificities. With this report, our aim is therefore to build consensus on global guiding principles for developing well founded taxonomies that underpin investor confidence as different jurisdictions (government-sponsored), industry associations, and individual participants create their own bespoke Climate Finance taxonomies to enable financing transition pathways. The five principles are by design high level and not prescriptive to allow for Climate Finance taxonomies to be based on regional or nationally defined contributions, climate targets and policies, and sector-specific transition pathways. The principles are designed to be foundational in the development of Climate Finance taxonomies by identifying key features underpinning each principle are considered.” Allison Parent, Executive Director of GFMA, said: “Globally harmonized, objective, science-based Climate Finance taxonomies are a key step to enabling the unprecedented scale of transition finance needed. Broadening the definition of Climate Finance taxonomies to capture the entity-level activities and all eligible sources of capital is critical to mobilizing equity financing and working capital that is not easily linked to a specific underlying economic activity. We set out these global principles and definitions to help spur global policymakers, standard setters, and market participants to start using a minimum set of global guiding principles and consistent definitions to underpin the development of Climate Finance taxonomies across regions. This will facilitate the cross border flow of financing to hard-to-abate sectors as well as global and diversified entities that operate across multiple countries, sectors, and sub-sectors.” – Ends – Background: The “Global Guiding Principles for Developing Climate Finance Taxonomies –A Key Enabler for Transition Finance” is a follow-up to one of the recommendations in GFMA/BCG report last December,Climate Finance Markets and the Real Economy, Sizing the Global Need and Defining Market Structure to Mobilize Capital. Similarly, the scope of this paper is limited to Climate Finance taxonomies and does not cover broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) taxonomies. Climate Finance taxonomies help enable financing, providing guidelines for investors and credit institutions on how “climate-aligned” a given corporate is at the entity level, or the alignment of specific activities undertaken by an entity to science-based pathways. Taxonomies should not be used as proxy for physical, transitional, or prudential risk assessment of financial institutions. A taxonomy captures only a snapshot of a corporate’s activities; therefore, to comprehensively understand a corporate through the lens of Climate Finance, a taxonomy should be used in conjunction with forward-looking decision-relevant metrics, enabled by mandatory disclosures. About GFMA GFMA represents the common interests of the world’s leading financial and capital market participants to provide a collective voice on matters that support global capital markets. It also advocates on policies to address risks that have no borders, regional market developments that impact global capital markets, and policies that promote efficient cross-border capital flows to end users. GFMA efficiently connects savers and borrowers, thereby benefiting broader global economic growth. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) located in London, Brussels, and Frankfurt; the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) in Hong Kong; and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in New York and Washington are, respectively, the European, Asian, and North American members of GFMA. GFMA Press Contacts AFME Rebecca Hansford Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2693 ASIFMA Corliss Ruggles Head of Communications [email protected] 852 9359 6996 SIFMA Katrina Cavalli Managing Director, Public Affairs [email protected] 212.313.1181

AFME’s flagship Annual European Financial Integration conference, organised jointly with OMFIF, took place today, 2 days before the Eurogroup’s next meeting on 17 June. At this meeting, Eurozone finance ministers are expected to review and assess recent progress of the discussions on Banking Union. A host of senior officials and leading industry participants at today’s conference examined the impact of the pandemic on European financial integration. The discussions highlighted the need for the EU to pursue efforts towards completing its Banking and Capital Markets Union projects to ensure the financial system is well equipped to support post-pandemic growth, including an accelerated transformation towards a more digital and sustainable economy. Following the conference, Adam Farkas, CEO of AFME, said: “The banking system plays a key role in Europe’s recovery from the pandemic and underpinning future growth. Fostering a highly integrated, resilient, competitive and profitable European banking sector is needed to support growth and ensure long-term stability. The completion of Banking Union must therefore remain a strategic priority.” “Let’s not forget that the other key component of deepening Europe’s financial integration is progress on the Capital Markets Union. We are concerned there may be waning momentum and ambition on this project and some of its main deliverables - for example, in areas such as bolstering equity finance, scaling up securitisation and converging legal frameworks. If we take a back seat on these long-term projects, Europe’s economic recovery will be slower in the face of persistent fragmentation.” The full conference agenda can be found here. – Ends –

A new report published today by Oxera and commissioned by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), provides evidence that the majority of equity trading in Europe (83%) takes place on venues[i]. A much smaller share (17%) takes place off-venue on alternative trading mechanisms known as systematic internalisers[ii] (SIs) and over the counter (OTC). This in-depth analysis counters claims that SIs and OTC transactions are disproportionately dominating the European equities landscape. These misperceptions have been based on raw trading data compiled by ESMA from national authorities and is not granular enough to distinguish between different trading modalities. As such, it does not provide an accurate picture of the equities trading landscape in the EU. Adam Farkas, Chief Executive of AFME, said: “This latest analysis from Oxera highlights how existing raw equity trading data reported to ESMA can inaccurately represent the trading landscape and to influence policymaking with the risk of perpetuating the dominance of exchanges in equity trading. This is cause for concern because an overly concentrated trading landscape hampers competition, investor choice and keeps costs of trading high. Ensuring sufficient diversity of trading is to the benefit of individuals’ pensions and savings, whether it is via their direct participation in markets, or via the institutional investors which represent them. A lack of competition in trading on the EU’s secondary markets may also be holding back the growth of primary markets which are underdeveloped compared to the size of the EU economy.” “AFME is therefore calling for improvements to regulatory data definitions and collection processes to be prioritised in the upcoming MiFIR Review so that policymakers have an accurate picture of EU market developments and can compare them internationally. The Review should not privilege any particular trading mechanism - otherwise we risk running counter to its objectives of improving market liquidity and investor outcomes.” Reinder Van Dijk, Partner at Oxera, said “When considering the European equity trading and liquidity landscape, policymakers and market practitioners may have different questions depending on their perspectives of interest. A significant volume of OTC and SI reported transactions are technical in nature. While technical trades may be relevant from a supervisory and/or post-trading perspective, it is not informative to include them in an analysis of the trading and liquidity landscape. Oxera’s analysis of the trading and liquidity landscape in this report applies filters to the full universe of reported equity transactions to distinguish true economic trading activity from the reporting of technical transactions. Although Oxera’s report provides more clarity, further work is required to obtain a precise view of the equity trading and liquidity landscape in Europe.” – Ends – [i] Trading venues are Regulated Markets and Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs). Trading mechanisms that take place under the rules of a trading venue can be broken down into the categories: lit order book, auctions, dark venues, and off-book on-exchange. [ii] Systemic Internalisers are investment firms using their balance sheets to trade with clients at their own risk. By doing so, they play an important role allowing trading to still take place when other market participants are unable or unwilling to trade. Their trades are made visible to the rest of the market after execution to avoid market prices moving before the trade takes place, which would otherwise amplify the risk they take.

AFME welcomes the European Commission’s publication of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) aiming to revise the existing EU Non-Financial Reporting directive (NFRD)[1]. Jacqueline Mills, Head of Advocacy for AFME, says “We strongly believe that the development of EU sustainability reporting framework, going forward, should ensure consistency and a logical sequence between disclosure requirements imposed on financial institutions and their borrowers and investees. AFME stands ready to support the European Commission and co-legislators in achieving this objective through the revision of the NFRD”. The proposal marks a significant milestone towards enhancing the availability and reliability of ESG information and introduces a range of crucial provisions. AFME fully supports the following provisions among others: Developing mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards following the double-materiality principle. Extending the scope of mandatory sustainability reporting requirements to include all companies listed on EU Regulated Markets, except for micro-undertakings, as well as all large, including private, companies[2]. Subjecting sustainability information to mandatory third-party assurance – the statutory auditor or audit firm should express an opinion based on a limited assurance engagement about the compliance of the sustainability reporting with the reporting standards. Establishing equivalence mechanisms for sustainability reporting standards used by third country issuers. International regulatory convergence in ESG reporting should be a key consideration in the further elaboration of the European reporting framework. However, AFME also stresses the importance of appropriately sequencing the reporting obligations applying to financial institutions and their clients. Jacqueline Mills said: “We generally welcome the proportionate approach to be applied to SMEs where listed SMEs will be expected to comply with the new standards three years after the CSRD enters into application and where voluntary simplified reporting standards would be developed for non-listed small and medium entities. However, we are concerned that this could further exacerbate the scope and timing mismatch between certain reporting obligations that financial institutions could be required to comply with and the reporting obligations imposed on financial institutions’ SME borrowers and investee companies. For example, the recent advice[3] by the European Banking Authority (EBA) to the European Commission proposes that credit institutions and investment firms would report on a range of KPIs, including a Green Asset Ratio (GAR), under the Taxonomy Regulation, that would include, on a mandatory basis, SME portfolios in the calculation. The EBA recommended that banks be allowed to use estimated data for such portfolios until 30 June 2024, followed by the reporting based on the “real data”. According to the new CSRD proposal, listed SMEs will not be expected to report sustainability information until the year of 2027 and the rest might not be sufficiently encouraged to do so at all, considering that the standard is recommended as voluntary.” – Ends – Notes: AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe) promotes fair, orderly, and efficient European wholesale capital markets and provides leadership in advancing the interests of all market participants. AFME represents a broad array of European and global participants in the wholesale financial markets. Its members comprise pan-EU and global banks as well as key regional banks, brokers, law firms, investors and other financial market participants. AFME participates in a global alliance with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in the US, and the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) through the GFMA (Global Financial Markets Association). For more information please visit the AFME website: www.afme.eu. Follow us on Twitter @AFME_EU [1] Amending the EU Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC ), Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC ) and Audit Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 537/2014) [2] According to under the amended Accounting Directive, large companies are defined as those that meet at least two of the following three criteria: balance sheet total of 20 million EUR; net turnover of 40 million EUR; and 250 employees. [3] https://www.eba.europa.eu/eba-advises-commission-kpis-transparency-institutions%E2%80%99-environmentally-sustainable-activities

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has launched today (14th) a report highlighting the need for financial institutions to have access to consistent non-financial reporting from corporates to be able to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. The European ESG Disclosure Landscape for Banks and Capital Markets report, written in partnership with Latham & Watkins, maps the complex ESG reporting landscape for financial institutions. It calls on policymakers and regulators to build a coherent framework to support sustainable finance by: prioritising the availability of high-quality data from non-financial corporates; providing clarity, avoiding inconsistencies and duplication between reporting requirements for financial institutions, and; taking into account the global nature of financial institutions. Jacqueline Mills, AFME’s Head of Advocacy, said: “Europe is playing a leading role in sustainable finance and is developing an ambitious and comprehensive ESG reporting framework. Ensuring the availability of high-quality ESG data from corporates should be prioritised as this will be key to facilitating the allocation of capital to companies in a way that supports transition objectives. Moreover, the current disclosure landscape for the financial services sector is already tremendously complex, with financial institutions required to report over 70 indicators.. The European Commission, co-legislators, and the European Supervisory Authorities should continue to work together with the financial industry to introduce a coherent ESG disclosure framework while also considering the increasingly global dimension of ESG reporting developments”. “We are delighted to have partnered with AFME on this report to help financial institutions develop effective ESG disclosure strategies,” said Nicola Higgs, a financial regulatory partner in Latham & Watkins’ London office. “Europe is at the forefront of driving the development of disclosure standards, and this comprehensive new resource should provide a blueprint to advance the current regulatory landscape.” The report identifies the various components of ESG reporting requirements across the many different EU regulations, including the EU Taxonomy, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (which applies to listed and public interest companies), the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (which applies to fund managers and other market participants), disclosure requirements specific to banks and investment firms (arising from the CRD/CRR or IFD/IFR), the Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation (methodologies for such benchmarks), as well as the TCFD framework (disclosure standard from the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures). It also flags the overlaps and interdependencies between these. In addition, the report provides recommendations for policymakers to appropriately sequence the development of regulatory measures to encourage their simplification. These include: The scope of the Non-financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) should be appropriately and proportionally expanded to include non-listed companies and SMEs; otherwise, financial institutions will not have sufficient data to comply with their reporting obligations. The forthcoming revision of the NFRD and elaboration of the European non-financial reporting standard should reflect a continued assessment of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting framework as a benchmark for the disclosure of climate risk. Disclosure requirements under the EU Taxonomy Regulation should be appropriately sequenced, with non-financial corporate clients of financial institutions reporting 12 months in advance of financial institutions. DNSH (do no significant harm) reporting requirements for the purposes of Taxonomy Regulation disclosure requirements should be introduced in a staggered way, with further guidance on simplified reporting released by the European Commission and the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. The Green Asset Ratio variables should be restricted to banking book EU exposures, in the first instance. Reporting requirements linked to the forthcoming sustainable corporate governance proposal should be aligned with those expected under the revised NFRD. In addition, the European Commission and EU Platform on Sustainable Finance should consider the extent to which adherence with the minimum social safeguards of the Taxonomy can be aligned with reporting requirements under the NFRD. International regulatory convergence in ESG reporting should be a key consideration in the further elaboration of the European reporting framework. The European Commission should duly consider how to best ensure cooperation and ongoing dialogue with international standard-setters, including through the work of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance, to facilitate the development of an aligned and harmonized system of reporting requirements. – Ends – AFME Contacts Patricia Gondim Interim Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2747 Notes: AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe) promotes fair, orderly, and efficient European wholesale capital markets and provides leadership in advancing the interests of all market participants. AFME represents a broad array of European and global participants in the wholesale financial markets. Its members comprise pan-EU and global banks as well as key regional banks, brokers, law firms, investors and other financial market participants. AFME participates in a global alliance with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in the US, and the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) through the GFMA (Global Financial Markets Association). For more information please visit the AFME website: www.afme.eu. Follow us on Twitter @AFME_EU

European banking and capital markets have provided unprecedented levels of funding and record volumes of market support to assist businesses and economies during Covid-19, a report by AFME revealed today (22nd March). Key figures from the AFME Prudential Data Report include: 26% increase in investment grade debt issuance by EU non-financial corporations with €495bn raised in 2020, from €393bn in 2019. Highest lending support to corporates and SMEs in the past 13 years with euro area corporate net lending peaking at €122bn in March 2020 and UK corporate net lending peaking at £27bn also in March 2020. Record annual issuance in European sovereign debt with a total of €3,675 bn in bonds and bills as European sovereigns contend with the funding demands. An ESG COVID-19 recovery with European ESG bond issuance increasing 88.6% from €133.9 bn in 2019 to €252.6 bn in 2020, continuing the upward trend seen since 2015. 51% increase in equity underwriting with follow-on offerings rising by 69%, the largest annual amount of proceeds since 2017, and corporates raising €27 bn in convertible securities - the largest annual amount since 2009. Julio Suarez, AFME Director of Research, said: “European banks entered the COVID-19 crisis with the highest quarterly solvency and liquidity ratios on record allowing them to deploy their balance sheets to fully support their customers and the broader economies in which they operate during these unprecedented times. The industry remains very well positioned to extend these exceptional levels of assistance to their customers as they recover from the very challenging impacts from the pandemic.” – Ends – AFME Contacts Patricia Gondim Interim Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2747

AFME has today published a new paper outlining the role securitisation can play in developing sustainable finance, in particular in a post-pandemic economic recovery. By pooling together ESG loans which are then financed by more liquid securities, securitisation gives investors access to sustainable investments financing newly built energy efficient houses, residential and commercial rooftop solar energy loans, loans for home insulation, SME loans for sustainable projects, among other projects. The report also highlighted that Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) programmes – a type of short-term securitisation funding - will also play an important role in (re)financing assets that provide environmental benefits, especially transitional assets. Anna Bak, Associate Director of Securitisation at AFME, said: “It is increasingly evident that the hoped-for economic recovery is an opportunity to promote a restructuring of economic activity and business models in line with the objectives of sustainability and the Green Deal. The pandemic has also put a greater spotlight on social finance (the “S” in ESG) with the issuance of bonds which help finance the efforts to fight the pandemic. This process will no doubt require additional, substantial funding, and that’s where securitisations can play an important role in financing the transition to sustainable finance.” The paper also discusses the current regulatory status of the disclosure and due diligence requirements for securitisation, which ESG factors are important in the context of securitisation, and provides a suggested framework for market participants’ ESG due diligence with respect to securitisation transactions. – Ends – AFME Contacts Patricia Gondim Interim Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2747

On 11th March 2021, AFME and 14 trade associations1 representing a wide range of stakeholders in the European and global financial markets wrote to the European Commission and ESMA raising concerns about the implementation of the mandatory buy-in requirement under the EU’s CSDR2 Settlement Discipline Regime. The current mandatory buy-in requirement, part of CSDR Settlement Discipline, which is due to come into force on 1 February 2022, is widely felt to require a thorough reassessment as to its appropriateness and is currently the subject of a European Commission Review. Any proposed legislative amendments to the mandatory buy-in requirement are not expected until the end of 2021. Given the significant global implementation effort required to support the CSDR mandatory buy-in requirement, the associations suggest that a far more robust approach would be to make the required revisions to the mandatory buy-in regime arising from the Review before attempting implementation. Accordingly the letter asks the European Commission for clarity on the Review and implementation schedule of CSDR-SD at the earliest opportunity. 1 The contributing associations are AFME, AGC, ASSOSIM, EACB, EAPB, EBF, EDMA, EFAMA, EVIA, FIA, FIA EPTA, ICI GLOBAL, ICMA, ISDA and ISLA. 2 Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 (together, ‘CSDR’). Visit our CSDR page to learn more – Ends – AFME Contacts Patricia Gondim Interim Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2747

Press releases available in: DE, EN, ES, FR, IT A report by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and PwC reveals that an equity shortfall of up to €600bn threatens Europe’s economic recovery despite the significant public support measures and private capital made available across Europe to support economies during the pandemic. AFME calls on the European Commission and members states to introduce measures to bolster Europe’s equity and hybrid markets and expand funding avenues for businesses, further enabling Europe’s economic recovery In a report published today (19th) in partnership with PwC, AFME warns that Europe needs to bridge a gap of €450-600bn[1] in equity needed to prevent widespread business defaults and job losses as COVID-19 state support measures are gradually reduced. The report Recapitalising EU businesses post COVID-19 reveals that despite the support provided by governments and the private sector since the start of the pandemic, 10% of European companies have cash reserves to only last six months. The pan-European trade association is calling on authorities to explore and develop further short-term measures to support Europe’s equity and hybrid markets and accelerate the Capital Markets Union to help fund the recovery. Unless urgent action is taken, a spike in insolvencies could start as early as this month and threaten the EU’s recovery prospects, AFME warns. The report presents insights from interviews with businesses and private sector investors from across the continent to propose solutions to Europe’s emerging funding gap. The findings reveal that many mid-size and SME corporates do not wish to give up control of their business but are willing to pay a premium not to dilute their voting rights, as well as are willing to distribute a share of profits to investors. Hybrid instruments are ideally suited to address these needs. In order to bolster capital markets to support businesses in the recovery phase, AFME is outlining the following recommendations: Proposing a new EU-wide hybrid instrument designed specifically for the corporate sector. This could be in the form of a new preferred shared instrument, which is state-aid compliant, to build scale and liquidity, and which ideally could be developed to comply with social investment objectives to attract maximum investor interest. Scaling up existing EU-wide recovery support schemes such as the EIF European Guarantee Fund tailored to the needs of SMEs, particularly the smallest companies. Replicating existing member state best practices on hybrid instruments, as well as raising awareness of the range of capital markets instruments available to mid-caps and SMEs who may be unaware such options exist Exploring further use of innovative instruments, such as dual class shares to address the control concerns of companies as well as debt for equity swaps to reduce leverage. Recalibrating state aid rules for a systemic crisis. Accelerating equity investment measures under the Capital Markets Union project. Adam Farkas, AFME’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “While additional debt and state support have provided the short-term rescue to businesses across Europe, we now need to move beyond the short-term bridge finance and to focus on long-term repair and recovery. “As European businesses strive to recover from the economic crisis, alternative types and sources of funding will be required to help mitigate their mounting debt burden while also allowing them to invest in their future. This is where hybrid and equity markets can play a key role in supporting Europe’s recovery. “The size of the challenge calls for urgent action. With a shortfall of up to €600bn threatening Europe’s recovery, we are calling on policymakers to work with the private sector at the national and EU levels to implement solutions to ensure midcaps and SMEs in particular have the resources they need to recover post-COVID-19.” Nick Forrest, leader of PwC’s economics consulting practice, said: “The Covid-19 crisis risks leaving a long-term scarring effect on the economies of Europe. This means restoring the equity capital base of European corporates is essential for them to drive investment, innovation and growth.” “The unwinding of Government support and anticipated release from Covid lockdown measures with a successful vaccination programme means that now is the time to put in place the equity and hybrid financial capacity, and infrastructure to drive recovery of the European economy.” – Ends – AFME Contacts Patricia Gondim Interim Head of Media Relations [email protected] +44 (0)20 3828 2747 Notes: AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe) promotes fair, orderly, and efficient European wholesale capital markets and provides leadership in advancing the interests of all market participants. AFME represents a broad array of European and global participants in the wholesale financial markets. Its members comprise pan-EU and global banks as well as key regional banks, brokers, law firms, investors and other financial market participants. AFME participates in a global alliance with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in the US, and the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) through the GFMA (Global Financial Markets Association). For more information please visit the AFME website: www.afme.eu. Follow us on Twitter @AFME_EU Key features of the proposed Covid-19 preference share: Low fixed basis preferred dividend to provide investors with some cash flow certainty. The preferred dividend could be combined with an increasing profit-sharing element (based on a step-up scheme) that would allow investors to benefit from an upside and provide corporates with an incentive to redeem these shares later on (and providing investors with an exit mechanism). Like a typical preference share, this instrument would not entail voting rights to address companies’ reluctance to cede control at least in the short-term. To sharpen the incentives for companies to take appropriate action to restore profitability as quickly as possible, this could after a certain time period be convertible into equity, or to provide investors with some say over the running of the company if investing for the long-term. To incentivise investors, the investment could be made tax deductible or be exempt from capital gains taxes in the first 5 years. The full proposals for the Commission and member states to accelerate recapitalisation in the EU are: Develop a Covid-19 recapitalisation instrument: agree a common, standardised recapitalisaton instrument to be deployed in conjunction with a corporate education programme Scale up existing recapitalisation schemes: scale up the European Guarantee Fund and replicate existing initiatives at member state level. Develop public-private working groups: develop public-private forums to develop new schemes and run corporate education programmes. Develop a EU-wide public-private investment fund: develop a private-public scheme with pricing support by the public sector and private sector support with scheme administration and investment Introduce investor incentives: introduce time-limited capital gains tax exemptions and temporary adjustments to regulatory capital and solvency requirements Lower the cost of public equity issuance for businesses: equity raising in public markets is much more costly than debt finance and can be prohibitive for smaller corporates. This cost could be reduced through grants or subsidy schemes and regulatory simplification in the capital raising process. Simplify state aid rules: broaden state aid eligibility criteria, extend repayment periods and link EU RRF funding to establishing recapitalisation schemes in member states Deliver on CMU and Banking Union: develop SME pan-European exchanges, remove structural and regulatory obstacles to bank leveraging [1] Excluding any equity provided by EU promotional banks.