Top EU Bank Regulator Candidate Rejected Over Lobby Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.The European Parliament rejected the nomination of an Irish central bank official to become one of the bloc’s top banking regulators, amid concerns about his past employment for an industry group.The nomination of Gerry Cross to become executive director of the European Banking Authority was turned down by a narrow majority on Thursday by the assembly’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. At a hearing on Wednesday, Cross had faced numerous questions about his past work for the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the European banking sector.“It’s completely impossible for us to support a candidate who worked in the past in these kinds of activities,” Jonas Fernandez, a member of the parliament for the Social Democrats, said in a video posted on Twitter. He also said lawmakers had already identified a female candidate with an “excellent profile” and that more women were needed in financial institutions.The rejection comes amid increasing concerns about a “revolving door” between European regulators and the banking industry. The EBA had already drawn the ire of EU lawmakers when it allowed Adam Farkas, its previous executive director, to leave for AFME under certain conditions. The parliament has called on the regulator to revise this decision.The vote against Cross, which will need to be confirmed by the assembly’s full plenary, is a “strong signal against the power of the banking lobby in Brussels,” said Sven Giegold, a lawmaker for the Green Party in the parliament, on Twitter. “Such conflicts of interest are undermining the trust in EU authorities.”A spokeswoman for the EBA said the regulator acknowledges the decision by the parliament committee and will decide on the next steps after the final vote in the plenary. AFME declined to comment.(Updates with EBA comment in sixth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Weber in Brussels at aweber45@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Nikos ChrysolorasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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