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Corporate & Institutional Banking

Brussels Reception 2025: a united call for simplification

Published on 14 May 2025

Basking in the warmth of the spring sun and the elegance of the BELvue Museum’s garden, just beside the Royal Palace of Brussels, over 100 EU policymakers and financial sector stakeholders gathered for a lively reception hosted by ABBL, ALFI and ACA. The weather was on our side, and so was the company.

Summary

    A shared theme across three sectors

    The event brought together representatives of the European institutions, national regulators and key industry voices, all welcomed by the chairmen of the three hosting associations: Yves Stein (ABBL), Jean-Marc Goy (ALFI) and Nicolas Limbourg (ACA). While each speech reflected the specific priorities of their respective sectors, a unifying theme emerged: simplification.

    Simplification as a necessity

    Yves Stein, Chairman of ABBL, took the floor to emphasise that simplification is not a luxury, but a necessity for Europe’s financial sector. While reaffirming ABBL’s support for robust regulatory standards, he underlined the strategic cost of ever-growing complexity in the EU banking framework.

    Complexity drains resources, discourages investment, and distracts from what financial institutions are supposed to do: finance the real economy, support innovation, and serve customers.

    Yves Stein

    Chairman of the ABBL

    Five proposals for smarter regulation

    He outlined five key recommendations from ABBL’s position paper Proposals towards smarter financial regulation in Europe:

    • Better coordination among EU-level policies to avoid regulatory contradictions
    • A stronger commitment to proportionality, especially for small and mid-sized institutions
    • Streamlined reporting to eliminate redundant obligations
    • A push for innovation-friendly policies that balance stability and competitiveness
    • Enhanced collaboration between regulators and the market to ensure practicality

    “Let us not be content with managing complexity,” Yves Stein concluded. “Let us lead in mastering it.”

    Conversations reflecting a shared agenda

    Bilateral conversations over the cocktail reception touched on regulation, market development and sustainable finance, reflecting the depth and diversity of Europe’s shared financial agenda.