Members of the public can pre-submit their questions and join the live discussions by registering at the following link: http://www.yourideasforeurope.eu/en/chats/banks
The online chats, each lasting around 30 minutes, will take place as follows:
- Tuesday 8 October 2013 12.00 CET – with Thierry Philipponnat, Finance Watch
- Tuesday 8 October 2013 15.00 CET – with Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
- Wednesday 9 October 2013 15.00 CET – with Guido Ravoet, European Banking Federation
Questions can be submitted in any EU language. For inspiration about what to ask, citizens can visit Finance Watch’s “Change Finance!” campaign pages.
Thierry Philipponnat, Secretary General of Finance Watch, said:
“The social costs of the financial crisis raise profound questions about the way banking is organised today. We are delighted to be asked to participate in this public conversation and hope that many members of the public will join in with their questions.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Greg Ford, Head of Communications at Finance Watch, on +322.401.8740 or +44 7703 219 222 or greg.ford@finance-watch.org
Charlotte Geiger, Communications Officer at Finance Watch, on +322.401.8741 or charlotte.geiger@finance-watch.org
USEFUL LINKS
Finance Watch’s “Change Finance!” campaign: http://www.finance-watch.org/hot-topics/campaign-change-finance
EU Single Market Month backgrounder on banks: http://www.yourideasforeurope.eu/sites/default/files/Banks_Backgrounder_EN_0.pdf
EU Single Market Month facts and figures on banking: http://www.yourideasforeurope.eu/sites/default/files/Banks_web%20facts_EN_0.pdf
ABOUT FINANCE WATCH
Finance Watch is an independent, non-profit public interest association dedicated to making finance work for society. It was created in June 2011 to be a citizen’s counterweight to the lobbying of the financial industry and conducts technical and policy advocacy on financial regulations in Brussels.
Its 70+ civil society members from around Europe include consumer groups, trade unions, housing associations, financial experts, foundations, think tanks, environmental and other NGOs, such as Oxfam, Transparency International, BEUC and ETUC. To see a full list of members, visit www.finance-watch.org.
Finance Watch was founded on the following principles: finance is essential for society and should serve the economy, it should not be conducted to the detriment of society, capital should be brought to productive use, the transfer of credit risk to society is unacceptable, and markets should be fair and transparent.
Finance Watch is independently funded by grants from charitable foundations and the EU, public donations and membership fees. It does not accept funding from the financial industry or from political parties. All funding is unconditional, vetted for conflicts of interest and disclosed online and in our annual report. Finance Watch AISBL is registered in the EU Joint Transparency Register under registration no. 37943526882-24.
