On 25 October, the European Association of Co-operative Banks together with the European Savings and Retail Banking Group held a joint online meeting with their respective members on the Report on Open Finance of the Commission’s Expert Group on European Financial Data Space.
Members of both associations had the opportunity to discuss first-hand with Juliana Pichler, Senior Manager for Group Regulatory Affairs & Data Governance at Raiffeisen Bank International, and Gilles Saint-Romain, Head of Digital European public affairs at Groupe BPCE, the key elements of an open finance ecosystem following the Expert Group’s handover of its report on open finance to Commissioner McGuinness on 24 October.
Juliana Pichler and Gilles Saint-Romain, held a lively presentation and debate with participants by shedding some light and providing insights on the work of the Expert Group, the selection of the key components of an open finance, the differing views of members of the Group on the various sections of the report, and on the choice of the uses cases, focusing – during the meeting – on the energy, sustainability and climate use case, the open investment data and financial advisory use case, and the mortgage use case. Juliana and Gilles also exchanged on the possible next steps of the Expert Group.
The report – together with the outcomes of the Commission’s targeted consultations on PSD2 and Open Finance – may serve as input for the Commission’s impact assessment accompanying any possible legislative proposal putting in place an Open Finance Framework, expected in Q2 2023.
The European Association of Co-operative Banks and its members remain committed to supporting the Commission’s work on open finance to create a more integrated, functional, and innovative digital single market by making sure that consumer protection, feasible data sharing business models and a level playing field for all market actors are key priorities.