The Savings and Investment Union (SIU): Does Simplification Require More EU Power?

At a moment when Europe is racing to finance the green transition, strengthen competitiveness, and respond to geopolitical shocks, the efficiency of its capital markets has moved from technical debate to political priority. Recent EU initiatives, alongside the renewed urgency following the Draghi report on European competitiveness and ongoing discussions on strategic autonomy, have put the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) at the center of policy and market reform.

The Swedish House of Finance, together with SNS (Centre for Business and Policy Studies), invites you to a morning finance panel on the EU’s SIU and its implications for European capital markets.

The seminar will explore how current EU initiatives aimed at simplification and market integration interact with supervision, market structure, trading, and capital management in practice, and address the question: Can the SIU deliver the scale, liquidity, and efficiency Europe needs in today’s economic and geopolitical environment?

Speakers:

Thorsten Beck, European University Institute (EUI)
Thorsten Beck will be offering an academic perspective on the institutional foundations of the Savings and Investment Union and the key trade-offs in the ongoing CMU/SIU agenda.

Johan Almenberg, Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen)
Perspectives on supervision, how SIU and EU regulation meet national practice, implications for the Swedish financial system, and the future role of ESMA.

Fredrik Ekström, Senior Vice President and Chairman, Nasdaq Stockholm
Trading and market structure, including the move towards more pan-European solutions and the practical importance of market integration, not least in post-trade and clearing.

Helene Wall, Swedish Investment Fund Association (Fondbolagens förening)
The asset management perspective, focusing on regulatory simplification, the removal of national specificities, and what the Commission’s proposals mean for capital managers and investors.

The seminar will be held in English and moderated by Pehr Wissén, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Practice, Swedish House of Finance.

Following the opening address, the panel discussion will bring these perspectives together, focusing on the Savings and Investment Union as a whole and what simplification and deeper integration actually mean for Europe’s capital markets in practice.