Finance Watch is a European non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on
financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled ...
. Based in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, the organization focuses on financial regulation in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Finance Watch was founded in 2011 by
members of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
as a counterbalance to the financial lobby. Its mission is "to strengthen the voice of society in the reform of financial regulation by conducting advocacy and presenting public interest arguments to lawmakers and the public as a counterweight to the private interest lobbying of the financial industry".
Background
Finance Watch was founded on 30 June 2011 as a consequence of a petition initiated in June 2010 by 22 members of the European Parliament, including members of all major political groups (
ALDE,
EPP,
Greens-EFA,
GUE/NGL, and
S&D). This call for action was signed by another 140 elected officials from across Europe, and led to an exploratory project funded by the initiators, which in turn resulted in the founding General Assembly on 30 June 2011.
Ieke van den Burg, a former
MEP MEP may refer to:
Organisations and politics
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka
* Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...
, was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors and Thierry Philipponnat, a former banker and
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
executive in France, became the Secretary General. In January 2017, Benoît Lallemand became Secretary General.
Activities
The organization's research team analyses financial regulation and formulates policy recommendations. Its views are then communicated to policymakers by its advocacy team, who also cooperate with member organizations who share the same views, and to the wider public by its communication team.
Examples of dossiers that Finance Watch deals with are capital requirements for banks (the
Basel III agreement), banking structure (the
Liikanen Consultation),
high-frequency trading
High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic financial trading characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data and electronic trading tools. While there is no ...
, food and resource speculation, and protection of retail investors. Finance Watch also organizes conferences about financial regulation issues, where different stakeholders of the financial sector interact in public.
Structure and financing
Finance Watch is an international association under Belgian law (
AISBL
Laws regulating nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary associations vary in different jurisdictions.
Australia
In Australia, nonprofit organizations include trade unions, charitable entities ...
), and has two types of members: individuals and civil society organizations. The latter include
consumer groups,
trade unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
,
housing associations,
environmental NGOs,
development NGOs and others. Each member has an equal vote at the organization’s general assembly. To become a member, both individuals and civil society organizations need to prove to the organization’s Committee of Transparency and Independence that they are independent from the financial industry. Individual members also need to qualify for membership by showing they have relevant experience and expertise. The members convene at least once a year for a General Assembly. During the year, the General Assembly is represented by the Board of Directors. The Board comprises eight Directors including six elected by and from the General Assembly (four Member organisations and two individual Members) and two independent Directors (“external personalities”).
Members of the Finance Watch board of directors as of October 2020:
* Chair:
Alexandra Andhov, University of Copenhagen
* Vice-chair: Marek Hudon, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
* Rachel Oliver,
Positive Money
Positive Money UK is a not-for-profit advocacy group based in London and Brussels. Positive Money's mission is to promote various reforms of central banks and alternative monetary policy. Its current executive director is geophysicist Fran Bo ...
* Erwan Malary,
Secours Catholique
* Rainer Geiger, Attorney-at-law
* Nadine Strauss, University of Oxford
*Patricia Suárez, ASUFIN (Asociación de Usuarios Financieros)
*Anna Maria Romano, FISAC/CGIL
The organization’s budget has as its main sources project funding from the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and grants from several charitable foundations:
Adessium Foundation, Fondation pour le progrès de l’homme,
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...
, Better Markets, Open Society Initiative for Europe, as well as individual donations and members’ fees and contributions.
Principles
The declared mission of Finance Watch is “to strengthen the voice of society in the reform of financial regulation by conducting advocacy and presenting public interest arguments to lawmakers and the public as a counterweight to the private interest lobbying of the financial industry”.
The organization states it follows six principles in the pursuit of this mission:
# The role of the financial industry (allocating capital, managing risk and providing financial services) has strong public interest implications.
# The primary role of finance is to allocate capital to productive use.
# Finance must serve the real economy, not the inverse.
# Banks are legitimate in pursuing profits to ensure their sustainability, but profits should not harm public interest.
# Credit risk should not be transferred to society at large.
# The real economy needs to have access to capital and financial services, in a sustainable, equitable and transparent manner.
National partners
Finance Watch has national partners in Germany (''Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende'', headed by
Gerhard Schick) and France.
See also
*
Bank regulation
*
Financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled ...
*
Lobbying in the European Union
Lobbying in the European Union, also referred to officially as European interest representation, is the activity of representatives of diverse interest groups or lobbies who attempt to influence the executive and legislative authorities of the E ...
References
External links
Finance Watch HomepageFinance Watch – a lobby to break the lobbies - English translation of an article from
der Tagesspiegel
''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...
- 23 February 2012
Finance Watch, les transfuges rebelles de la finance- Article on Finance Watch on
Slate.fr
''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 20 ...
(in French) - 11 February 2013.
Finance Watch keeps an eye on markets- short article on th
Trade Stock Marketswebsite - 26 October 2012 (Renewed link - 26 October 2017).
-
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
article about the launch of Finance Watch - 1 July 2011.
{{Portal bar, Business and economics, Belgium
Financial regulation
International organisations based in Belgium
Organisations based in Brussels
Organizations established in 2011