Open Letter on EU Banking Regulation

We ask President Ursula Von Der Leyen for simplification without weakening resilience

June 22, 2026

Type:

Positions

Tags:

Banking Simplification

More info:

Share this post:

We, the undersigned banks, civil society organisations, and financial regulation experts, are writing to share our priorities on banking regulation in the context of the European Commission’s assessment of the competitiveness of the EU banking sector. Our message is that simplification should improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary complexity, but it must not weaken prudential safeguards, capital strength, or the resilience of Europe’s banking system. In particular, we ask the Commission to:

preserve robust capital requirements,
reduce fragmentation in the single market,
streamline supervisory reporting,
and support a diverse banking sector that can continue to finance the real economy sustainably.

Organizations

APS Bank
Asufin
Banca Popolare Etica
Cooperative Bank of Karditsa
Ekobanken
FEBEA Advocacy Lab
Finance Watch
Germanwatch
GLS Bank
Green-Got
Hefboom cv
Société Financière de La Nef
Triodos Bank

Individual Signatories

Brenda Kramer, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance Lab
Clemens Kool, Professor Emeritus of Macroeconomics and International Monetary Economics, Maastricht University
Dirk Bezemer, Full Professor, University of Groningen
Harald Benink, Professor of Banking & Finance, Tilburg University
Irene van Staveren, Professor of Pluralist Development Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Jézabel Couppey-Soubeyran, Associate Professor & Scientific Advisor, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne & Veblen Institute
Jens van ’t Klooster, Associate Professor of Political Economy, University of Amsterdam
Jonathan Zeitlin, Professor Emeritus, Visiting Fellow, & Affiliate Professor, University of Amsterdam, European University Institute, & Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
Linda van Goor, Member, Club of Rome
Marleen Janssen Groesbeek, Professor Sustainable Finance and Accounting, Avans University of Applied Sciences
Martien Lubberink, Associate Professor of Accounting and Capital, Victoria University Wellington
Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Executive Chair, Earth4All, and Honorary President, The Club of Rome; Founder & Co-Chair, Systems Transformation Hub, Club of Rome, Earth4All, Systems Transformation Hub
Stephany Griffith-Jones, Professor Emeritus of Macroeconomics and International Monetary Economics, Emeritus Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University / Professor of Practice of Sustainable Finance, SOAS, London University / Former Deputy Governor Central Bank of Chile
Ulrich Klüh, Professor for Political Economy and Ecology; Speaker of the Directorate, Darmstadt Business School / Center for Sustainable Economic and Corporate Policy (SECP)

December 1, 2025

8th Report on Ethical and Value-Based finance in Europe

The 8th Report on Ethical Finance in Europe presents evidences of how ethical finance is now a necessary, solid and credible model that serves the common good rather than a niche alternative.