EFAMA welcomes the launch by the European Commission of a public consultation to seek views on remaining barriers in post-trade markets in the context of the Capital Market Union.

EFAMA supports initiatives aiming to address and remove remaining barriers in post-trade markets, and as a member of the European Post Trade Forum (EPTF), has been a key contributor to the drafting of the recent EPTF report, which can be found here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/170515-eptf-report_en.

The EPTF was conceived with a view to supporting the work of the European Commission in reviewing the developments in post-trading, including collateral management services. The new EPTF Report - replacing the European Commission Second Report on EU Clearing and Settlement Arrangements focusing on barriers to cross-country transactions in Europe (respectively "Giovanini report" and "Giovannini Barriers") - identifies barriers which have not yet been dismantled, as well as new barriers and bottlenecks which need addressing in order to promote a post trade services capital markets union in the EU.

Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, commented: Europe needs a Capital Markets Union that brings down remaining barriers to ensure an efficient European post trade market in order to facilitate the funding of the real economy and better returns for the investors across Europe".

The EPTF report notably concludes that the following barriers should be given the highest priority for resolution:

Inefficient withholding tax collection procedures - a barrier to efficient cross- border investments.
Legal inconsistencies and uncertainties - a barrier to a successful capital market union.
Fragmented corporate actions and general meeting processes - a risk that successful barrier dismantling work is jeopardised by renewed fragmentation.
Inconsistent application of asset segregation rules - providing for safety and efficiency through harmonisation.
Lack of harmonisation in registration and investor identification rules and processes - an obstacle to cross-border securities investment and issuance.
Complexity of post-trade reporting structure - an obstacle to making the EU an attractive investment destination.

EFAMA will contribute to the ongoing consultation on post-trade in a CMU to insist on the need to tackle the above existing barriers in this field.