What has been agreed on with the SSM – within the framework of Target operating models (TOM) – in relation to the relocation of staff and assets has to be implemented at once and in any event before the end of this year. Regarding CCPs, equivalence decisions by the Commission will ensure continuity of access to UK CCPs after 31 December 2020, until 30 June 2022. Beyond this transition, it is key to address the financial stability risks stemming from an excessive dependence on UK CCPs. The 18 month limited equivalence decision aims to give market participants the time needed to reduce their exposure to UK CCPs that are systemically important for the Union. This timeframe will also be used by ESMA to conduct a comprehensive review of the systemic importance of UK CCPs to the Union as foreseen by EMIR 2.2. This will include a fully reasoned assessment whether some of the clearing services are of such substantial systemic importance that the CCP should for euro-denominated activities be relocated on the continent. Considering the size and the concentration of some of these clearing services, betting on the status quo would be a losing 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  proposition, including for clearing members: a swift relocation is in the interest of all participants and relies as such on the attractiveness of the clearing offer that EU CCPs are encouraged to build in order to help the emergence of a new liquidity pool.
According to a recent study by the British Think Tank New Financial, it will take the lead in the EU in 14 of 30 sectors studied2. This polycentric structure would improve the circulation of the abundant savings in the euro area – a surplus amounting to EUR 360 billion last year – channelling them towards financing needs on the continent. Besides, euro area businesses have been lacking equity financing for many years now. The Capital Markets Union – and what I more broadly call a “Financing Union for Investment and Innovation” – is even more essential given the prospect of Brexit. European governments all agree in principle; but so far it remains a blind spot in the recovery strategy. Let us at last turn words into action. II. Preparing Europe payments for the digital currency age Payments are not a usual topic for Europlace and distinguished financial forums. Indeed, they used to be considered as technical, back-office and even boring stuff. But a revolution is underway, and if we collectively miss it, it would mean a massive disintermediation of banks in the two key assets linked to payments: daily customer relations, and personal data. And it would also mean a major loss of sovereignty for Europe. To this day, the coexistence and complementarity of central bank and commercial bank money as settlement assets has structured the payment landscape. Yet this structure is increasingly being questioned.