What is this European savings product that Bruno Le Maire wants to launch?

The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, this year proposed to start a European savings product from 2024 with willing states. This idea has been envisaged within the framework of the Union of Capital Markets to implement gradually.

The Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Bruno Le Maire, who spoke during his trip to Belgium for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Ghent on February 23, proposed the introduction of a European savings product. He called for putting in place, without delay, a framework that would serve as the basis for a union of European capital markets.

“ I propose that we set up a European savings product with willing states. Let’s launch a European savings product in 2024, the characteristics and operation of which we will define with the voluntary states we want. “, he declared.

Aggregate and put idle money to work

Believing that the first chain preventing the growth of European development is the unavailability of capital, while the money of Europeans is idle, he urges the establishment of a union. capital markets without delay”, It is adding “By 2024, progress must be made in the Capital Markets Union “

The minister launched an appeal to all European states that want to start a capital markets union on a voluntary basis, even if he expects that not everyone will necessarily respond to his call. ” Since it is impossible to start immediately with 27, let us start with a few based on three concrete propositions. », supported Bruno Le Mare.

Accumulate 10,000 billion euros of passive savings

His first proposal: voluntary European supervision that could be exercised by the European Financial Markets Authority. To do this, it asks investment banks, stock exchanges and asset managers to join this voluntary monitoring. The second is to launch a European savings product to mobilize a third of Europeans’ savings, 10,000 billion euros, sitting in bank accounts.

Bruno Le Maire eventually proposed establishing a guarantee for securitization so that securities would stop weighing on banks’ balance sheets and banks could, as a result, lend more to individuals and businesses. ” This is the call from Ghent that I am launching this morning for a union of capital markets (…) that will allow us to mobilize this private money that we need for investment because public money is not enough for climate change (…) “, he explained.

Faced with German reluctance…

The minister, wanting to be impatient to proceed, even if he is already afraid of reluctance, including the German one, “ At the very least, we will see, from 2024, a union of capital markets that will concretely enable us to break this first chain of European growth, which is the scarcity of money.

“, he insisted.

” Every state is free. It is clear that we want to move forward with Germany in the capital market. Together with my friend Christian Lindner, I published an op-ed in the Financial Times a few weeks ago calling for a capital markets union. But it’s better when actions match words », Bruno Le Mare recalled.