The European Banking Federation (EBF) has published joint letters (dated June 6, 2014) to be sent to the European Commission and to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed by the EBF, the European Fund Management Association (EFAMA), the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) and Insurance Europe.

The trade associations call on the Commission and EFTA to find an urgent solution to ensure that the ESA Regulations are included in the EEA Agreement and warn of potential disruption to the single market in financial services.  The trade associations suggest that there is a risk that EEA member states will be transformed into third countries for the purpose of EU financial services legislation, which will impose new regulatory and organizational requirements for companies that have established branches in EEA member states.

The letter summarizes concerns that were raised in a position paper published in April 2014 by Finance Norway, which analyzed the potential risks of delaying the inclusion of the ESA Regulation in the EEA Agreement.  Position Paper.