Pressure grows on EC to scrap European commission ban

European financial adviser trade body the FECIF has given its full support to efforts to scrap a proposed European Commission (EC) ban on adviser commission.

In an open letter to Michel Barnier, European commissioner for internal market and services, FECIF chairman Vincent Derudder said a proposed amendment to the Mifid II directive scrapping the ban should stand.

“Unanimously our members have confirmed their full support to Mr. Markus Ferber, MEP, and the proposed amendment of the EC proposal for a full ban on commission and inducement,” he said.

“We strongly feel that the European Parliament is right in opposing a highly anti-democratic planned measure. FECIF has repeatedly complained about the fact that no one single representative of the financial intermediaries has been appointed to the so-called stakeholders’ groups of the three super agencies created by the EC.”

A draft amendment to Mifid II was first filed by Mr Ferber in March, as revealed by Investment Adviser.

FECIF’s Mr Derudder added that it “sometimes seems that the main purpose of new financial services regulations is to make the life of the SME intermediary ever more complicated, while at the same time diverting profitable business from Europe to other places outside Europe”.

“We are of the opinion that the bureaucratic oligarchy supervising the financial services industry has succeeded to prevent a true dialogue between the actors which is viewed by our members as another mockery of democracy,” he said.