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Annual Report 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2019 CHANGE FINANCE, NOT THE CLIMATE ! MAKING FINANCE SERVE SOCIETY change nance FINANCE WATCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019 CONTENTS CONTENTS Letter from the Chair and the Secretary General 3 Our mission & who we are 4 Our people 5 Testimonials 6 Our team 7 No Libra! campaign 8 EU Elections campaign 9 Change Finance Lobby campaign 10 Conference 2019 11 Sustainable Finance #1. Finance Watch outputs 12 Sustainable Finance #2. Joint actions 14 Stability #1. Banks 15 Stability #2. Markets 16 Retail & financial inclusion #1. Blueprint on retail financial services 17 Retail & financial inclusion #2. Credit & debt collection 18 Financial Statement 19 © Finance Watch 2020 / Editor: Greg Ford / Graphics and typesetting by Camila Dubois The contents of this report may be freely used or reproduced without permission provided the original meaning and context are not altered in any way. For enquiries relating to this annual report, please email [email protected] Finance Watch has received funding from the European Union to implement its work programme. There is no implied endorse- ment by the EU or the European Commission of Finance Watch’s work, which remains the sole responsibility of Finance Watch. 2 FINANCE WATCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019 LETTER Dear friends and colleagues, LETTER FROM THE Thanks to your help and support, 2019 was a successful year for Finance Watch. CHAIR AND THE As we write this in May 2020, we still have not overcome the corona crisis. We SECRETARY wish you and your families well in this difficult period. As we reflect on these strange times and on our past year’s work, Finance Watch’s mission seems GENERAL more relevant than ever. Just to share a few highlights from 2019: • We were able to help shape the sustainable finance agenda thanks to our membership of the Technical Expert Group. Our position on financing the European Green Deal is highly relevant to discussions on reviving the EU’s economy sustainably after the shutdown. • Our staff continued their unrelenting advocacy for better capitalised banks. The expected wave of losses from the shutdown and the need for banks to support the economy in our current crisis show how important this work is. • The team published recommendations to tackle financial exclusion and consumer over-indebtedness, which we hope will help to reduce hardship as the economic slowdown bites. • Our expanding European network is becoming a very good base for cam- paigning, which in 2019 included campaigns on the EU elections and against Facebook’s Libra, among others. It is also positive that we were able to welcome 19 new members last year, in- cluding 11 organisations and eight expert individuals from a variety of countries. The strength of Finance Watch, beyond the technical expertise, lies in its demo- cratic legitimacy, and this is continuing to grow. We have set ourselves ambitious goals for 2020 and have further strengthened our team to achieve them and to respond as fully as we can to the events unfold- ing. The Finance Watch family is very happy to have Thierry Philipponnat, former banker and first Secretary General of Finance Watch, back as our new Head of Research and Advocacy. The current corona crisis clearly shows that the financial system remains fragile and lacks purpose. We cannot rest. For this we need your continued support and trust in 2020! Thank you very much, Benoît Lallemand, Secretary General of Finance Watch Rainer Lenz, Chair of the Board of Directors of Finance Watch 3 FINANCE WATCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019 OUR MISSION & WHO WE ARE OUR MISSION Finance Watch is a European, non-govern- mental, membership organisation ! supported by a permanent sec- Now retariat. It was founded in 2011 nge Cha and is registered in Belgium as an Association Sans But Lucratif (AISBL). Our mission Our funding is to defend the public interest in the making of finan- comes entirely from our members, philanthropic cial regulations and policy. Our vision is for a reformed foundations, public donations, and the EU. A full financial system that creates and allocates capital break-down of funding is provided with our financial for productive and environmentally sustainable uses, statements. through fair and open markets, in a transparent and sustainable manner, in line with society’s needs and Our staff without exploiting or endangering society at large. help to coordinate networks of members in France, Spain and Italy, while our sister organisation Bürger- Our members bewegung Finanzwende (Finance Watch Deutsch- include non-profit organisations and expert individuals land) is building a successful presence in Germany. from Europe. Members can have either full member- ship (voting) or associate membership (non-voting). Finance Watch’s secretariat is recruited mainly from Finance Watch’s General Assembly of members meet the financial and policy sectors, with strong commu- at least once a year to debate and approve Finance nications and stakeholder engagement capacities, Watch’s priorities, budget and accounts, to elect the and includes a full-time staff based mainly in Brussels Board of Directors, and approve the membership of with support from outside consultants. The team the Committee of Transparency and Independence conducts advocacy and provides technical know-how (CTI), which safeguards our independence from the and coordination for our civil society network. Mem- financial industry and political parties. bers receive advocacy advice and intelligence, attend events, meet policymakers, and work on common Finance Watch currently has members in 18 European campaigns. countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Together, we act as a counterweight to the financial Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzer- sector lobby. We represent civil society and public land, and the UK. interest interests to financial policymakers in the EU. 4 FINANCE WATCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019 MEMBERS LIST OUR We welcomed 19 new members in 2019. At the end of the year, Finance Watch had 98 members from 18 European countries, including 59 organisations and 39 expert individuals, of which 71 are full members and 27 are associate members (*). Austria • Les Economistes Atterrés* • Marcella Corsi* - in 2019 • Secours Catholique - Caritas France • ASB Schuldnerberatungen* • UNSA Banques et Assurances Netherlands • Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour • Consommation, logement et cadre • Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Belgium (AK Europa) de vie (CLCV) - in 2019 Ondernemingen (SOMO) Belgium • Christian Chavagneux • Consumentenbond • Grégori Colin • National Institute for Family Finance • Centre d’Appui des Services de • Rainer Geiger Information (NIBUD)* Médiation de dettes de la Région de • Dominique Perrut Bruxelles-Capitale* • Laurence Scialom Norway • Centrale Nationale des Employés • Yamina Tadjeddine* - in 2019 • Norwegian Confederation of Trade (CNE) • Jean Hetzel - in 2019 Unions (LO.NO) • Financité • National Institute for Consumer • Rym Ayadi Germany Research (SIFO)* • Yves Mathieu* • Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund • Robert Thys (DGB) Poland Bulgaria • MONNETA • Krzysztof Grabowski • SÜDWIND e.V. - Institut für Ökono- • Maria Aluchna • Iskra Christova-Balkanska* mie und Ökumene • Marta Götz Czech Republic • Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (VERDI) Romania • Poradna* • Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband • Monica Calu - in 2019 (vzbv) • CREDERE* - in 2019 Denmark • Weltwirtschaft Ökologie & Entwick- • Sandy Madar - in 2019 lung (WEED) Spain • Finanzwende - in 2019 EU • Stefan Calvi • Asociación de Usuarios Financieros • Markus Duscha (ASUFIN) - in 2019 • COFACE Families Europe (COFACE)* • Ingrid Groessl • Asociación de Comunidades Autofi- • Bureau Européen des Unions de • Christian Kellermann nanciadas (ACAF)* Consommateurs (BEUC) • Rainer Lenz • revo Prosperidad Sostenible* - in • European Trade Union Confederation • Udo Philipp 2019 (ETUC) • Suleika Reiners • Novact* - in 2019 • Heinrich Böll Stiftung – EU • Hans-Joachim Schwabe • Observatori del Deute en la Global- • Housing Europe • Nadine Strauss - in 2019 ització (ODG)* - in 2019 • Oxfam International • Fundación Finanzas Éticas • Transparency International – EU Greece Office (TI-EU) Sweden • UNI Europa • EKPIZO* • Nordic Financial Unions (NFU) • Positive Money EU* - in 2019 • Union of Working Consumers of • Fredrik Tjulander* - in 2019 • Age Platform* - in 2019 Greece (EEKE)* - in 2019 • Richard Ahlström* France International Switzerland • Attac France • International Movement for Monetary • Bärbel Bohr • Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants Reform (IMMR)* - in 2019 • Marc Chesney • Confédération Générale du Travail Ireland • Michel Santi (CGT) • Fédération CFDT des Banques et • Centre for Co-operative Studies - United Kingdom Assurances University College Cork (UCC)* • Fédération des métiers de la Finance • Stuart Stamp* - in 2019 • New Economics Foundation (nef) et de la Banque/CFE-CGC (FFB • Positive Money CFE-CGC) Italy • Jay Cullen • Nicholas Dorn • Fédération Européenne des Cadres • FABI • Deepa Govindarajan Driver des Établissements de Crédit • FIRST Cisl • Stephany Griffith-Jones (FECEC) • FISAC CGIL • Paul A. Jones* • Fondation Crésus* • Fondazione Finanza Etica • Thomas Lines • Institut Veblen pour les réformes • Movimento Difesa del Cittadino (MDC) économiques • Donald MacKenzie Interested in becoming a member? Please visit our website for more information: www.finance-watch.org/members/ 5 FINANCE WATCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019 TESTIMONIALS TESTIMONIALS I highly recommend Finance Watch,
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