OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2015.

Aviva welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s Green Paper on Capital Markets Union.

In particular, we welcome:

• Making credit information on SMEs more widely available to help open new lines of lending to them.
• Embracing digital advances to make it easier to sell products cross border to consumers.
• The focus on infrastructure investment where the insurance sector – given its very long-term nature – can add real value if the rules and framework can be made to work.

Whilst the Green Paper supports the important link between finance, investment and long-term planning, we believe that more can be done to promote sustainable, long-term capital markets at an EU level. This is why we support the initial ideas set out in the paper around boosting the green bond market; and improving corporate governance and financial literacy. In addition, we have produced a Sustainable Capital Markets Union manifesto which adds further ideas for how Europe can ensure financial markets are focused on the long-term, creating stability and security for consumers across the EU.

Mark Wilson, CEO of Aviva said:

“Not being sustainable could be the biggest market failure of all. So we all have a responsibility to look to the long-term. That’s just good business.

So we welcome the Commission’s Green Paper on Capital Markets Union. It is a landmark moment. Now we must all back this initiative – and make it a reality.”