The EU aims to establish a Savings and Investments Union to better channel the substantial savings of its citizens towards productive investments within the EU, boosting economic growth, creating jobs, and strengthening the EU's global competitiveness. This initiative recognizes the vast untapped potential of the EU's financial system and addresses the persistent underperformance of the EU economy. The current geopolitical landscape, climate change, and technological advancements necessitate a more ambitious and coordinated approach to policy-making to unlock this potential. Previous attempts to revitalize capital markets through Capital Markets Union (CMU) action plans (2015, 2020, 2022) have fallen short of expectations. However, renewed momentum in 2024, driven by discussions within the Eurogroup and Ecofin, along with influential reports (e.g., Letta and Draghi), has created a new opportunity. The European Commission, particularly Commissioner Albuquerque, is tasked with advancing key areas such as creating EU investment and savings products, reviewing pension systems, supporting start-ups, fostering exchange consolidation, and improving securitization and EU supervision.

Key Challenges and Objectives:

• Fragmentation: Despite the single market, barriers to cross-border financial integration amount to 100% tariffs on financial services, limiting the EU economy's potential;
• Low Growth and Productivity: The EU faces a low-growth cycle with persistently low productivity compared to other global regions. This is partially attributed to ineffective financial intermediation, preventing savings from reaching productive investments;
• Investment Needs: The EU has significant investment needs, estimated at €750-800 billion annually by 2030, further exacerbated by increased defense spending requirements. These needs are particularly acute for SMEs and innovative companies, often underserved by traditional bank financing;
• Untapped Retail Savings: Around €10 trillion of EU retail savings are held in low-yield bank deposits. Redirecting a portion of these towards market-based investments could significantly boost capital markets.

Key interconnected Pillars of the Savings and Investments Union:

The Role of the Banking Sector

The Savings and Investments Union recognizes the crucial role of a well-integrated and competitive banking sector. Completing the Banking Union, including establishing a European deposit insurance framework, is considered essential for the Union's success.

Implementation and Monitoring

The Commission is committed to implementing these measures through legislative and non-legislative actions. Regular monitoring and review, including a mid-term review by Q2 2027, will assess progress and address any obstacles. Engagement with all stakeholders, including the European Parliament, Member States, the financial industry, and civil society, is crucial for the success of the initiative.
 
Deutsche Börse Group is closely monitoring the ongoing developments of the Savings and Investments Union and actively participates in consultations.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the SIU, find our White Paper titled: “Towards an EU Savings and Investments Union – Transforming the Capital Markets Union into a success story: A next generation of excellence roadmap” under Publications.

For your reference, please find the following reports: the report authored by Enrico Letta and the report authored by Mario Draghi.

Deutsche Börse Group’s response to the European Commission’s call for evidence on the Savings and Investment Union is available here.

More than 25 years following the launch of the single currency, the euro has established itself as the second most important currency in the world. In an increasingly multipolar global economy characterized by geopolitical tensions, technological disruptions, and global trade conflicts, the EU recognizes the importance of a more diversified system of global reserve currencies and is therefore seeking ways to strengthen the international role of the euro. A more diversified system of global reserve currencies would not only enhance the resilience of the world economy to external shocks but also bolster Europe's economic and financial sovereignty.

As early as December 2018, the European Commission published its communication “Towards a stronger international role of the euro,” thereby initiating a series of measures to strengthen confidence in the common currency and enhance its attractiveness on a global scale. Complementing the communication, the Commission launched a series of consultations in 2019 with the goal of gathering feedback from a variety of sectors and stakeholders to better understand the mechanisms that underpin the use of the single currency. A comprehensive set of initiatives was outlined, including the following aspects:

• Completion of Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union;
• Banking Union and Capital Market Union measures to foster a deep European financial sector;
• Initiatives to support EU financial markets infrastructures as well as to strengthen the EU sanctions regime;
• Promoting the use of the euro in key strategic sectors.

Deutsche Börse Group strongly supports the vision set out in the Commission’s guidelines, notably the goal to establish the EU-27 as a competitive and prospering economic area, supported by financial markets built on principles of stability, transparency, and fairness. As part of our contribution, we identified different avenues for strengthening the international role of the euro: directly, by increasing the trust and attractiveness of the currency itself; and indirectly, by supporting products and services denominated in euros, as well as the Eurozone’s financial ecosystem.

At the same time, new challenges have emerged for the international role of the euro in recent years. The increasing importance of digital currencies, geopolitical power shifts, and initiatives by other major economies to promote their own currency areas are changing the dynamics in international capital markets. These developments could sustainably influence the demand for international reserve currencies and capital flows, posing a challenge to global financial stability. It is therefore all the more important for Europe to act decisively to consolidate and expand the euro's position as a global reserve currency.

A central element of this strategy is the targeted strengthening of the economic and financial resilience of the eurozone. Through closer economic policy coordination, the development of fiscal stabilization instruments, and the implementation of structural reforms, the eurozone should become more robust against external shocks — a prerequisite for international stakeholders' confidence in the stability of the euro. In this context, the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union remains as essential as the completion of the Banking Union and the realization of the Capital Markets Union.

Moreover, market-oriented solutions based on an effective and innovation-friendly legal framework can make a decisive contribution. They enable a balance between stability and growth promotion and create the conditions for increased use of the euro in strategic key sectors — such as commodity markets or the development of system-relevant euro-denominated financial markets. These measures contribute significantly to increasing the EU's resilience to economic and geopolitical shocks and securing its global competitiveness in the long term.

In parallel, the integration of European capital markets — such as through the "Savings and Investment Union" announced by the Commission in March 2025 — must be decisively advanced. The goal is to better link savings and investment behavior within the EU, facilitate cross-border capital flows, and overcome the fragmentation of financial markets. The planned issuance of joint bonds — for example, to strengthen European defense capabilities — can make a decisive contribution to creating safe euro-denominated assets that are essential for the international role of the euro.

The digitization of the European currency system should be another strategic lever. The digital euro developed by the European Central Bank can function as a secure public means of payment in the digital space and strengthen the innovative power of European payment transactions. This is complemented by initiatives for the settlement of large transactions in central bank money based on distributed ledger technologies and the improvement of cross-border payments through the linkage of European real-time payment systems. Combined with the promotion of private digital financial solutions, this creates a future-proof financial ecosystem that aims to sustainably strengthen the international competitiveness and attractiveness of the euro.

Last but not least, the measures taken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly the EU Recovery Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility — have increased the supply of safe euro-denominated assets, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the eurozone's economic sovereignty.

The international role of the euro is thus not only an expression of economic strength but also a strategic instrument for securing European interests in a changing world order. Deutsche Börse Group will continue to actively accompany and shape this path.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.

The Market Abuse Directive (MAD) and the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) ensure the integrity and transparency of European financial markets and increase investor confidence by creating a level playing field for all economic operators in the Member States as part of the effort to combat market abuse. The concept of market abuse typically consists of insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation, all of which are prohibited. 

MAD took effect in April 2003, while MAR has been applicable since July 2016. The regulation is not limited in scope of application to financial instruments admitted to trading on a regulated market or for which a request for admission to trading on a regulated market has been made. It also covers financial instruments admitted to trading or traded on Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs), financial instruments traded on Organized Trading Facilities (OTFs), and emission allowances. 

The framework strengthens the fight against market abuse across commodity and related derivative markets, explicitly bans the manipulation of benchmarks, and reinforces the investigative and sanctioning powers of regulators.  

The amendments adopted under the EU Listing Act aim to simplify the reporting obligations of issuers, ensure greater legal clarity, and improve the exchange of information between competent authorities in cross-border matters. 

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) is an EU regulation designed to increase the transparency and stability of the European energy markets while combating insider trading and market manipulation. As a complement to the EU's "Third Energy Package," the main purpose of REMIT is to prohibit market abuse in the trade of wholesale energy products in Europe. REMIT applies to trade in electricity and natural gas products that are physically and financially fulfillable if they are delivered within the EU. The regulation includes:

• Defining market abuse, including market manipulation, attempted market manipulation, and insider trading;
• Explicitly prohibiting market abuse;
• Requiring effective and timely public disclosure of inside information by market participants;
• Requiring firms that professionally arrange transactions to report suspicious transactions.

Anyone who executes a trade for delivery inside the EU — no matter where in the world they are based — is subject to the rules. In this sense, REMIT is distinct from many financial market regulations. REMIT is enforced by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), who are usually energy regulators. For example, in Germany, the Market Transparency Unit for Wholesale Electricity and Gas Markets, a joint institution of the Bundesnetzagentur (Germany’s regulator for electricity and gas, telecommunications, post, and rail markets) and the Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s competition regulator), is responsible for executing REMIT. The entire effort is coordinated on an EU-wide basis by ACER, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators.

REMIT entered into force in December 2011, with reporting requirements applicable from 2015 onwards. Since 2015, all participants must report information about their trading activity to ACER, both on and off Organized Market Places.

REMIT was revised significantly by the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2024/1106, effective May 7, 2024. The amendments aim to achieve, among other things:

• Stronger enforcement against market manipulation:
  • Extended powers for ACER to investigate and enforce cross-border cases;
  • Introduction of harmonized sanctions across the EU;
• New obligations for market participants:
  • Non-EU market participants must register and comply with new transparency requirements;
  • Persons professionally arranging transactions (PPATs) have extended monitoring obligations;
• Cooperation with National Regulatory Authorities: ACER works more closely with the NRAs to ensure uniform application.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.  

Financial market infrastructures (FMIs), in their role as Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) and Central Counterparties (CCPs), are required to be authorized as credit institutions in order to be able to provide certain services and as such are subject to certain Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) requirements.

CCPs are often required to obtain a banking license to ensure access to overnight central bank facilities, which are essential to increase resilience and smooth operations. In contrast to this, CSDs need to be authorized as credit institutions to provide banking services that are ancillary to their main business such as the provision of cash accounts to, and accepting deposits from, participants in a securities settlement system and holders of a securities account, primarily conducted to increase settlement efficiency. However, CSDs and CCPs are already embedded in a comprehensive regulatory regime specially tailored to them as FMIs, entailing strict risk management rules and additional prudential and capital requirements, as well as recovery and resolution rules (e.g., CSDR, EMIR, the Securities Finality Directive, the CCP Recovery and Resolution).

However, as the requirements in CRD IV/CRR also apply to CSDs and CCPs operating with a banking license, they are placed on equal regulatory footing with credit institutions, even though they only provide bank-like ancillary services to a very limited extent and, due to the distinct nature of their business model, do not pose any long-term risks like credit institutions do. Therefore, in order to ensure that CSDs and CCPs remain able to provide their services properly and thus strengthen the stability and integrity of financial markets, which also contributes to the objectives of the European Commission’s initiative on the Capital Markets Union, the unique characteristics of FMIs should be recognized by granting exemptions from prudential requirements designed for credit institutions as per CRD/CRR.

Against the background of the recognition of the specific business models of CSDs and CCPs, certain exemptions have already been granted. The EU rules deviate in some aspects from the Basel III standards to take those specific activities and pass-through models considered formally as banking activities into account. As such, CCPs as well as CSDs maintaining a banking license were exempted from the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) on an individual basis, as they do not perform any significant maturity transformation. The distinct business model of CCPs and CSDs was moreover reflected in exemptions from the Leverage Ratio (LR): While CSD’s cash balances resulting from the provision of banking type ancillary services used solely for the purpose of settling transaction in securities settlement systems were excluded from the LR exposure measure as they do not create a risk of excessive leverage, CCPs were fully exempted from applying the LR requirements. To avoid potentially undermining the provision of central clearing services by institutions to clients, the initial margin on centrally cleared transactions conducted by institutions for their clients has been excluded from the total exposure measure as well.

The distinct business model and role of FMIs having a banking license was further considered in the field of recovery and resolution planning. Due to classifying as credit institutions CCPs and CSDs having a banking license were subject to the general requirements of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) rather tailored for “classic” lending banks than for FMIs. With the publication of a dedicated framework for recovery and resolution for CCPs (CCP R&R) existing shortcoming in the field of recovery and resolution were addressed through exempting CCPs having a banking license from the BRRD. Consequently, the Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) will no longer subject CCPs, which was considered potentially jeopardizing the efficiency of central clearing. Instead, specific tailored requirements on pre-funded dedicated own resources will apply.

While the BRRD already early foresaw the possibility of separate recovery and resolution frameworks for CCPs and CSDs (see. Recital 12 BRRD) to ensure consistency, only a dedicated framework for CCPs was developed so far. Since the same logic behind granting this exemption to CCPs also applies to CSDs regardless of a banking license, they should also be covered by a dedicated R&R framework exempting CSDs with a banking license from the MREL requirement, particularly as CSDs are already as of today obliged under CSDR to hold sufficient capital ensuring an orderly winding-down or restructuring of the CSD’s activities.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.

On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU). According to the withdrawal agreement, the 12-month transition period then began, during which the EU and UK negotiated the foundation of their future relationship and to conclude an EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The treaty came into force on 1 January 2021. While the agreement contains provisions including areas such as trade in goods and in services and cooperation on other aspects, the framework is limited in covering financial services. Instead, the EU and UK issued a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for regulatory cooperation on financial services.

Consequently, financial services firms cannot benefit from a previously used EU passport. Instead, market access will mainly be governed via the equivalence determinations and decisions. However, as equivalence decisions only exist for a limited amount of EU regulatory frameworks and can be unilaterally withdrawn on short notice, they are not a substitute for the current EU passporting regime for market participants.

As EU rules ceased to apply in the UK, diverging regulatory frameworks may emerge in the future, which could affect the equivalence of both systems and therefore cross-border market access. Therefore, market participants should complete their long-term Brexit solution to avoid cliff-edge risks after the equivalence decision expires or will be withdrawn.

For Deutsche Börse Group, it is of utmost interest that UK-based clients continue to have access to our infrastructure. Therefore, our business units along our value chain are taking the appropriate measures in monitoring and analyzing the post-Brexit environment very closely. At the same time, we provide support to our clients who plan to relocate their business to the EU. We have established a dedicated Brexit Transition Team to ensure member readiness.

In addition, with the Partnership Program of the central counterparty (CCP) Eurex Clearing, Deutsche Börse Group has developed a market-led alternative to the clearing of interest rate swaps within the EU. The program was designed in close cooperation with market participants (such as trading firms, end customers and trading platforms).

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.  

With the proposal to introduce a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in 2011, the European Union aimed to ensure the financial sector made its fair contribution to addressing the consequences of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. While Deutsche Börse Group understands this objective, it believes this is already being achieved through other initiatives implemented over the past decade to promote financial market stability.

Moreover, according to many studies, the FTT does not deliver the hoped-for gains but instead has unintended negative consequences and runs counter to many of the European Commission’s current key regulatory initiatives, including the Capital Markets Union (CMU).

Expected consequences include businesses relocating to other countries without an FTT to avoid taxation, weakening regulatory oversight and control, and harming the European Union’s competitiveness. Negative effects are also expected on private pensions and the real economy, as the tax would likely be borne by the retail investor. This is particularly concerning because retail investor participation is considered crucial for private sector wealth creation and is a key objective of the CMU. Similarly, the FTT may further discourage small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from entering capital markets by creating an additional tax burden when supporting SMBs is central to the European Commission’s policy initiatives.

Over the years, both the European Commission and the German government have repeatedly launched initiatives to introduce the financial transaction tax (FTT). In 2015, ten European Union member states, including Germany and France, announced they had reached a “broad agreement” under the “enhanced cooperation” procedure. However, to date, no legally binding agreement has been reached. Negotiations under the enhanced cooperation procedure have effectively been stalled since 2020.

The FTT is being reconsidered in some parts of ongoing EU discussions.

Several member states (e.g., France, Italy) have introduced national FTTs, but there is no uniform EU regulation.

For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under Publications.

The Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II) aims to tackle corporate governance shortcomings related to listed companies and their boards, shareholders (institutional investors and asset managers), intermediaries, and proxy advisors (e.g., firms providing services to shareholders, notably voting advice). The Directive makes it easier for shareholders to exercise their existing rights over companies and likewise enhance those rights where necessary.

The SRD was adopted in 2017, transposed into national law, and has been fully applicable since 2019. In 2023, the Commission requested the EBA and ESMA to identify areas for further progress and detailed policy suggestions regarding the Directive’s effectiveness. The subsequent EBA/ESMA report served as a basis for the European Commission's assessment of SRD II implementation. The Commission will assess the need for and consider a potential review of the Shareholders Rights Directive by Q4 2026 to make it easier for investors, intermediaries and issuers to operate across Member States.

Deutsche Börse Group welcomes solutions that ensure shareholders are more engaged, better hold company management accountable, and act in the company's long-term interests.
 
For further information on Deutsche Börse Group’s positioning on the matter, find our statements and position papers under  Publications.