IIEA to examine future of banking in Europe

With the financial services sector undergoing major structural and regulatory changes, the Institute of International and European Affairs hosts a one-day conference examining the future of the sector and banking in Europe.

The conference will look at the rapidly changing banking environment in the context of the proposals for a banking union in Europe. The implications of these developments, including what they mean for the future of the euro, the management of financial crises in the euro zone and the likely impact on businesses and individual consumers, will also be addressed.

IIEA director general Tom Arnold said the conference will “offer insight into the current state of thinking about the banking union and the big decisions facing our political leaders”.

He said the event is taking place at a critical juncture, ahead of the crucial European Council meeting on the single resolution mechanism later this month.

European Central Bank vice-president Vítor Constâncio, Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and former attorney general Paul Gallagher will be among the speakers.

The conference, which is taking place today in the Convention Centre in Dublin, will coincide with the publication by the IIEA of its interim report on the political, economic and legal dimensions of banking union.

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Today is also Cyber Monday, the online equivalent of Black Friday.

Cork-headquartered Trustev, which provides anti-fraud solutions to verify customers’ identities on web- sites, said online fraud will be up, due to the volume of transactions. Irish shoppers are expected to spend more than €320,000 per hour online.

The company said retailers may miss much of the fraudulent activity, which will only become apparent after year-end when customers start receiving their credit card statements.

Michael McCormack, chief executive of eMark, said more than €8.5million is leaving the country every day from online shoppers.

Calling on shoppers to look out for the eMark symbol, which identifies Irish online businesses, he said having an Irish domain name does not mean a company is Irish.