14


NEWS EU cracks down to boost competition B


russels regulators have cracked down on European banking associations in Poland and the Netherlands, which have allegedly pulled antagonistic moves


towards fintech rivals to prevent them from accessing customer information. These investigations do not signify incrimination of the banks, but it was the longstanding complaints by fintechs that put them under suspicion.


The European Commission announced that it has it carried out unannounced bank inspections with national regulators as


part of an antitrust operation on October 3. Brussels had said it was concerned about some practices of this type, but didn’t name which countries were under inspection. Poland and the Netherlands were some of the member states that have been revealed by sources close to the matter, but some other countries may also have been investigated too.


New EU regulation is design to foster competition between traditional institutions and fintechs by allowing new companies, including the likes of Amazon and Facebook, access to the data of customers who authorise it. It seems that Brussels is acting ahead of the implementation of these regulations, which are to come in January 2018.


“These alleged anti-competitive practices are aimed at excluding non-bank-owned providers of financial services by preventing them from gaining access to bank customers’ account data, despite the fact that the respective customers have given their consent to such access”, the European Commission said on Friday. “The commission respects the rights of defence, in particular the right of companies to be heard in antitrust proceedings.”


EU is trying to foster competition between banks and fintechs


While the Polish banking associations couldn’t be reached for comment, its Dutch homologous commented that the implicated banking associations in the country were very much acting in cooperation.


China in talks to reform the yuan T


he Chinese yuan recovered for the second day in a row after China’s chief central banker called for a loosening of its exchange-rate curbs and capital controls. According


to Factset, the yuan is close to reaching its highest in the past 16 months, when it reached $6.4817 in September. This puts the Chinese currency in close competition with the American dollar. The yuan grew 1.2% in just two days, contributing to an overall yearlong gain of 5.4%.


“There isn’t a single country in the world that can achieve an open economy with strict foreign exchange controls … The time window is very important for reforms, an appropriate window must be seized. Once missed, the cost of reform will be higher in the future,” said Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, in an interview published on Monday with Chinese business magazine Caijing.


The call by the governor to continue with these reforms may push the yuan into an international exchange currency, similar to the


dollar, in the 19th Communist Party, where China’s government discuss the leadership of China. Analysts have pointed out that a change of policy goes against the stability sought after by the communist party.


China has been gradually opening its currency to foreign investors, even though this doesn’t necessarily mean that the country’s politics ill change or that the yuan will open up for internationalization. In September, the country pushed major oil exporters like Iran and Russia to price the oil futures contracts in yuan, instead of the dollar. These contracts would be backed by gold.


The yuan fell since early September, after the central bank arrested its rally by getting rid of a rule that made it costly for speculators to wager against the currency. Prior to the intervention, the PBOC had encouraged the yuan’s steady rise by slowly lifting its trading midpoints, the main way it fixes its currency.


www.ibsintelligence.com | © IBS Intelligence 2017


iStock


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52