Latest news with #SavingsandInvestmentsUnion
Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Business Times
EU sees Sweden as a model as it looks to encourage investors
[BRUSSELS] The European Union wants to unleash trillions of euros in household savings by encouraging people to invest in capital markets – and it sees Sweden as a template of how to do so. Europe is expected to detail its plan this quarter to mobilise citizens' funds sat in bank deposits as part of its Savings and Investments Union. By making it easier for people to invest, it aims to lift household wealth and boost firms' access to funding. Analysts say it might promote wider adoption of Swedish-style bank accounts that enable people to easily invest savings in stocks. That's as Poland earlier this month proposed an investment savings account modelled on Sweden's InvesteringsSparKonto, or ISK system, to create an 'equity culture' attracting US$27 billion in its first three years. Sweden's retail-trading base is 'among the best in the world' due to the ease by which people been able to invest in listed companies, Philip Scholtze, savings economist at Avanza Bank Holding, said. The Nordic nation is regarded as a 'best practice' model, said a spokesperson for the financial services department at the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. The spokesperson added that the bloc aims to provide citizens with 'a wider range of tools and knowledge to invest their savings in ways that can directly benefit their personal economy, while simultaneously turbo-charging the investment landscape in the EU.' Decades of policymaking in the country of about 10 million people has helped make equity investing more akin to a national sport. Swedish households invest over half of their savings in stocks, more than twice the average in the euro area, according to a report by European Savings Institute this year. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Anyone with a bank account can trade, while the ISK account – in place since 2012 – is not subject to capital gains tax. Securities can be easily bought and sold directly from mobile banking applications. 'Swedes have good reason to be thankful for the ISK account,' said Mohammed Salih, a 32 year-old communications manager who lives in Listerby in southern Sweden. He has invested with the system for more than ten years. 'I have always saved money and tried to build an economically stable future, but I didn't know how to make the money grow.' He started an Instagram account to document his journey toward his goal of growing assets to US$105,000. He says he achieved it a few years ago, but still posts stock market tips that attract interest. 'The youngest person who has written to me was 13 years old. His parents had helped him set up an ISK account,' Salih said. The ISK simplified the tax structure around capital investments, removing bureaucratic barriers that had previously discouraged participation. 'It's just a much simpler way to buy stocks,' Frida Bratt, savings economist at Nordnet Bank AB, said. 'This has been especially important for young people.' Almost a quarter of Swedes directly own shares in publicly listed companies, with stakes totaling around US$56,552 on average, according to data from Euroclear Sweden. The most recent available data from the Swedish Investment Fund Association show that about 70% of all Swedes directly invest money in mutual funds. In the UK, only 8% of personal wealth is saved in equities and mutual funds, data from a January review by Aberdeen Group Plc showed. It remains to be seen what effect the introduction of a EU-wide savings and investment account could have on the wider European market. According to Jonas Strom, CEO of the Nordic investment bank ABG Sundal Collier Holding ASA, it is 'definitely possible' to export the Swedish success with the ISK accounts to a wider European audience. The European Commission would only offer a blueprint of how a EU-wide savings and investment account could be constructed, leaving member states to implement it. The success of the proposal ultimately depends on the 'political will' of the member states, Strom said. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
The EU Sees Sweden as a Model as It Looks to Encourage Investors
The European Union wants to unleash trillions of euros in household savings by encouraging people to invest in capital markets — and it sees Sweden as a template of how to do so. Europe is expected to detail its plan this quarter to mobilize citizens' funds sat in bank deposits as part of its Savings and Investments Union. By making it easier for people to invest, it aims to lift household wealth and boost firms' access to funding. Analysts say it might promote wider adoption of Swedish-style bank accounts that enable people to easily invest savings in stocks.
Euronews
20-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU plans to reduce steel imports by 15%
The European Commission unveiled on Monday a plan to better channel up to €10 trillion in bank deposits across the bloc into much-needed strategic investments. 'Currently, too few European citizens make a decent return on their hard-earned savings, at least not in a simple and cost-efficient way,' EU Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque told reporters in Brussels. 'This is regrettable and represents a loss to us all,' she added. Capital in the EU isn't lacking: European households save €1.4 trillion annually compared to €800 billion in the US — yet €300 billion of those European savings flow into non-EU markets each year. The proposed Savings and Investments Union (SIU) aims to address these missed opportunities by improving the channelling of savings into productive investments, unlocking the full potential of the bloc's capital markets for both companies and citizens. 'Our goal must be to make investing in Europe the obvious choice by creating the conditions that will allow offering attractive opportunities, competitive returns, and low barriers,' Albuquerque argued. Mario Draghi's landmark report on competitiveness warned last year that the EU will need at least €750-800 billion per year by 2030 to stay competitive against global players such as the US and China. 'We have reached the point where, without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment or our freedom," the former Italian PM said last September, calling on member states to swiftly respond to avoid being left behind on the global stage. Yet public funding alone will not suffice to match the bloc's ambitions, so the EU is exploring ways to further mobilize private capital and facilitate access to finance for EU companies. Under the Savings and Investments Union, the Commission will address barriers preventing insurers, banks, and pension funds from investing in equity. It will also review the EU's rules on securitization, 'focusing on due diligence, transparency, and prudential requirements for banks and insurers, as this will free up resources from banks and allow better support for companies,' the Commissioner said. The EU is also counting on the European Investment Bank Group and national promotional banks to attract private investors into co-financing projects that support the bloc's economy and political goals. At the same time, reducing inefficiencies within the single market and removing regulatory and supervisory barriers for cross-border operations will aim to help businesses scale across the EU. 'European firms are unable to enjoy the scale and synergies of the single market. This is costly and represents a competitive disadvantage for the EU,' Albuquerque said. The EU's banking sector remains fragmented and small compared to the US market value of its biggest banks. For instance, JPMorgan is larger than the combined market capitalization of the top ten banks in Europe, according to Factset. The Commission also plans to introduce measures ensuring that all financial market participants are treated equally across the EU, including increased use of convergence tools and a reallocation of supervisory responsibilities between the national and EU levels. The communication has provoked mixed signals among stakeholders. For Thierry Philipponnat, chief economist at Finance Watch, the SIU is a "repackaging" of the 2020 objectives for the Capital Markets Union. 'Private capital cannot meet Europe's vast investment needs, particularly on climate. Without a rethink on public finance, SIU won't deliver,' Philipponat said, adding that the problem is the lack of political will from member states. The European Banking Federation, on the other hand, believes the SUI is much more than a rebranding exercise because it's broader than the long-stalled Capital Markets Union project. "The idea (of the SUI) is very much to encourage citizens to continue to invest in financial markets for their own future and to diversify, but also most likely to get a better return in the long term for their retirement," Sébastien de Brouwer, deputy CEO of the European Banking Federation, told Euronews. Both regulation and supervision will also need to be reviewed and possibly streamlined and simplified where necessary to ensure that banks remain "competitive, profitable and stable" and that banks' lending capacity is further increased or unleashed, de Brouwer said. At a time when the sector is facing 25% US customs duties and competition from Asia is putting pressure on European producers, the Commission announced Wednesday that it would limit steel imports by 15% from 1 April. 'In the space of a few years, global overcapacities - particularly in Asia - have hit our plants' order books hard,' Commission Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné said while introducing an action plan for steel and metals industries, adding: 'This is priority number one: We need to protect our steelworks from unfair foreign competition - wherever it may come from.' Since the Americans slapped a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, the EU has been worried that it will see more global steel overcapacities flooding into its market. In 2018, during a trade dispute with the first Trump administration, the EU introduced a safeguard measure to limit steel imports. This has since been renewed several times. From April onwards, the Commission will be stepping up these quotas to obtain a further 15% reduction in imports. It has also announced that it will present a replacement to the safeguard clause, due to expire in 2026, in the third quarter of 2025. As Euronews already reported, the EU action plan on steel and aluminium also includes an investigation on aluminium on the EU market for possible safeguard measures. 'Europe must be a global steel player, not a playground,' Stéphane Séjourné warned. To protect its market from unfair competition from global players, the EU also plans to introduce a "melted and poured" rule for metals imports. It should prevent foreign importers from circumventing trade defence measures, such as anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures, by doing the ultimate stage of the production process in a third country not subject to the measures, before shipment to the EU. Under the new rule, the Commission will be able to act against the country where the metal was originally melted to eliminate the possibility to change the origin of the metal product by performing minimal transformation. US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy have said that they had a constructive call on Wednesday about moving towards a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, with the White House suggesting that the US could take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the US could be "very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise," according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz that described the call as "fantastic." Trump added that "American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure." The call between Trump and Zelenskyy came a day after Trump held similar talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump's call with Zelenskyy was about half the length of his call with Putin, during which the Russian leader agreed not to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his call with Zelenskyy was to "align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs" as he seeks to bring a halt to fighting. "We are very much on track," Trump added, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz would provide further details of the conversation. The phone call is the first time the US and Ukrainian leaders have spoken since a fiery spat in the White House in February, in which Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for US military support. "You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump barked at Zelenskyy in front of reporters. "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved," Trump wrote in a social media post after Zelenskyy left the White House. Zelenskyy also took to social media after that meeting, saying the confrontation had been "regrettable" but that Ukraine was ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" to secure lasting peace. Following that encounter, European leaders were quick to hurry to Ukraine's support, expressing their solidarity and assuring a shaken Zelenskyy of continued support for Kyiv. Many leaders in Europe were already unnerved about Trump's perceived pivot to Moscow, leaving them out of peace talks with the Russians and raising fears of striking a Ukraine peace deal that would be more favourable to Russia. Prior to his call with Trump, Zelenskyy said Putin's limited ceasefire pledge was "very much at odds with reality" following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country. "Even last night, after Putin's conversation when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities," Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Russia responded by saying it had halted its targeting of Ukraine's energy facilities and accused Kyiv of attacking equipment near one of its pipelines. "Unfortunately, we see that for now there is no reciprocity on the part of the Kyiv regime," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The White House described the call between Trump and Putin as the first step in a "movement to peace" that Washington hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting. But there was no indication that Putin backed away from his conditions for a prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv. Shortly after the lengthy phone call between Trump and Putin on Tuesday, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions as residents took shelter. Despite efforts to repel the attack, several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two hospitals, a railway and more than 20 houses, Zelenskyy said. Russian drones were reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said its military had launched seven drones at power facilities related to the military-industrial complex in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, but that it shot them down after receiving Putin's order to not hit energy infrastructure. Moscow accused Ukraine of targeting its energy facility in the Krasnodar region bordering the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, several hours after the Putin and Trump talks. The ministry said that three drones targeted oil transfer equipment that feeds the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, causing a fire and leading one oil tank to lose pressure. "It is absolutely clear that we are talking about yet another provocation deliberately concocted by the Kyiv regime, aimed at derailing the peace initiatives of the US president," the ministry said. Russia said that its air defences intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions — the border provinces of Kursk and Bryansk and the nearby regions of Oryol and Tula. Zelenskyy said that "words of a ceasefire" weren't enough. "If the Russians don't hit our facilities, we definitely won't hit theirs," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy rejected Putin's key condition that Western allies stop providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine. He said that doing so would endanger lives if citizens were blind to incoming air raids and lead to the continuation of the war. "I don't think anybody should make any concessions in terms of helping Ukraine, but rather, assistance to Ukraine should be increased," Zelenskyy said. "This will be a signal that Ukraine is ready for any surprises from the Russians."
Euronews
19-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
The EU plans to reduce steel imports by 15%
The European Commission unveiled on Monday a plan to better channel up to €10 trillion in bank deposits across the bloc into much-needed strategic investments. 'Currently, too few European citizens make a decent return on their hard-earned savings, at least not in a simple and cost-efficient way,' EU Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque told reporters in Brussels. 'This is regrettable and represents a loss to us all,' she added. Capital in the EU isn't lacking: European households save €1.4 trillion annually compared to €800 billion in the US — yet €300 billion of those European savings flow into non-EU markets each year. The proposed Savings and Investments Union (SIU) aims to address these missed opportunities by improving the channelling of savings into productive investments, unlocking the full potential of the bloc's capital markets for both companies and citizens. 'Our goal must be to make investing in Europe the obvious choice by creating the conditions that will allow offering attractive opportunities, competitive returns, and low barriers,' Albuquerque argued. Mario Draghi's landmark report on competitiveness warned last year that the EU will need at least €750-800 billion per year by 2030 to stay competitive against global players such as the US and China. 'We have reached the point where, without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment or our freedom," the former Italian PM said last September, calling on member states to swiftly respond to avoid being left behind on the global stage. Yet public funding alone will not suffice to match the bloc's ambitions, so the EU is exploring ways to further mobilize private capital and facilitate access to finance for EU companies. Under the Savings and Investments Union, the Commission will address barriers preventing insurers, banks, and pension funds from investing in equity. It will also review the EU's rules on securitization, 'focusing on due diligence, transparency, and prudential requirements for banks and insurers, as this will free up resources from banks and allow better support for companies,' the Commissioner said. The EU is also counting on the European Investment Bank Group and national promotional banks to attract private investors into co-financing projects that support the bloc's economy and political goals. At the same time, reducing inefficiencies within the single market and removing regulatory and supervisory barriers for cross-border operations will aim to help businesses scale across the EU. 'European firms are unable to enjoy the scale and synergies of the single market. This is costly and represents a competitive disadvantage for the EU,' Albuquerque said. The EU's banking sector remains fragmented and small compared to the US market value of its biggest banks. For instance, JPMorgan is larger than the combined market capitalization of the top ten banks in Europe, according to Factset. The Commission also plans to introduce measures ensuring that all financial market participants are treated equally across the EU, including increased use of convergence tools and a reallocation of supervisory responsibilities between the national and EU levels. The communication has provoked mixed signals among stakeholders. For Thierry Philipponnat, chief economist at Finance Watch, the SIU is a "repackaging" of the 2020 objectives for the Capital Markets Union. 'Private capital cannot meet Europe's vast investment needs, particularly on climate. Without a rethink on public finance, SIU won't deliver,' Philipponat said, adding that the problem is the lack of political will from member states. The European Banking Federation, on the other hand, believes the SUI is much more than a rebranding exercise because it's broader than the long-stalled Capital Markets Union project. "The idea (of the SUI) is very much to encourage citizens to continue to invest in financial markets for their own future and to diversify, but also most likely to get a better return in the long term for their retirement," Sébastien de Brouwer, deputy CEO of the European Banking Federation, told Euronews. Both regulation and supervision will also need to be reviewed and possibly streamlined and simplified where necessary to ensure that banks remain "competitive, profitable and stable" and that banks' lending capacity is further increased or unleashed, de Brouwer said. At a time when the sector is facing 25% US customs duties and competition from Asia is putting pressure on European producers, the Commission announced Wednesday that it would limit steel imports by 15% from 1 April. 'In the space of a few years, global overcapacities - particularly in Asia - have hit our plants' order books hard,' Commission Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné said while introducing an action plan for steel and metals industries, adding: 'This is priority number one: We need to protect our steelworks from unfair foreign competition - wherever it may come from.' Since the Americans slapped a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, the EU has been worried that it will see more global steel overcapacities flooding into its market. In 2018, during a trade dispute with the first Trump administration, the EU introduced a safeguard measure to limit steel imports. This has since been renewed several times. From April onwards, the Commission will be stepping up these quotas to obtain a further 15% reduction in imports. It has also announced that it will present a replacement to the safeguard clause, due to expire in 2026, in the third quarter of 2025. As Euronews already reported, the EU action plan on steel and aluminium also includes an investigation on aluminium on the EU market for possible safeguard measures. 'Europe must be a global steel player, not a playground,' Stéphane Séjourné warned. To protect its market from unfair competition from global players, the EU also plans to introduce a "melted and poured" rule for metals imports. It should prevent foreign importers from circumventing trade defence measures, such as anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures, by doing the ultimate stage of the production process in a third country not subject to the measures, before shipment to the EU. Under the new rule, the Commission will be able to act against the country where the metal was originally melted to eliminate the possibility to change the origin of the metal product by performing minimal transformation. US President Donald Trump has described a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "good call." In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the call lasted around an hour and was aimed at aligning Ukraine's requests and needs with Russia's to strike a ceasefire deal. "We are very much on track," Trump said, adding that the White House would issue a full statement "shortly." The call between Trump and Zelenskyy comes a day after the US president spoke to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday. Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
Euronews
17-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Defence White Paper, Newsletter
Wednesday 19 March – Commission presents Communication on a Savings and Investments Union. Wednesday 19 March – Commission presents White Paper on the future of European Defence . Thursday 20 & Friday 21 March – Ukraine, defence and competitiveness under debate during EU Council Summit in Brussels. Hope you had a good rest this weekend — and a coffee this morning, because Brussels isn't giving anyone a break this week. On the five-day menu: more discussions on defence, funding, and (again!) competitiveness. The key date? Wednesday, when the European Commission unveils its long-awaited White Paper on the Future of European Defence, along with a closely linked communication on the Savings and Investments Union. The defence paper will outline ways to boost production and readiness, while the investment plan is "indispensable" to von der Leyen's 'Rearm Europe' initiative. "We need to ensure that the billions of savings from Europeans are invested in markets inside the EU," the Commission president wrote to member states earlier this month. Capital isn't lacking: European households save €1.4 trillion annually compared to €800 billion in the US — yet €300 billion of those European savings flow into non-EU markets each year. The Savings and Investments Union aims to improve the channelling of these savings into productive investments, unlocking the full potential of the bloc's capital markets. According to a draft seen by Euronews, the plan targets areas such as encouraging retail investor participation, growing the supplementary pension sector, promoting equity and venture capital investment, and enhancing market integration across the EU. As for defence, the white paper will urge member states to spend more, spend better, and spend European. The latest draft seen by Euronews outlines five strategic priorities: securing critical industrial inputs and reducing dependencies, promoting defence skills and expertise, strengthening industrial capacities across the EU, cutting red tape, and removing barriers to the circulation of defence products. Then on Thursday — and likely Friday — EU leaders will gather in Brussels to hash out these proposals, set priorities for the next long-term budget (2028-34), and tackle competitiveness, which tops the agenda. Buckle up. It's going to be a busy week. Elbowed aside? Defence continues to dominate discussion across the bloc and within its various institutions. The proposal for a Rearm Europe plan, presented by President Ursula von der Leyen, raised concerns among MEPs who feel sidelined by the executive's plans. Manfred Weber, the German leader of the EPP, criticised Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for bypassing the European Parliament in shaping the defence initiative, arguing that excluding MEPs undermines democratic accountability. The new financial instrument, worth €150 billion in loans, was presented directly to the Council, with the justification that the emergency situation warrants proceeding without consulting Parliament.
