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Brussels, 12 July 2010 – UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers’ organisation, warmly welcomed the suggested changes to the legislation on bank deposit guarantees proposed by the European Commission. 
Under the new rules, companies’ bank accounts would be covered by default by deposit protection should their banks fail, with payback up to 100,000 EUR per bank account and within 7 days. The proposal has the potential to restore confidence in the banking system both for private households and companies. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) were hit as hard as private consumers by the current crisis, but prior to this latest proposal they did not enjoy the same level of protection of their bank accounts in all the EU Member States, stressed UEAPME, which called on Parliament and Council to approve the Commission’s proposal as soon as possible.
UEAPME Economic and Fiscal Policy Director, Gerhard Huemer, offered the comment:
"Today’s proposal by the European Commission to extend deposit guarantee schemes to SMEs is a welcome relief at a time when confidence in the banking system is very low and companies seem unsure about the pace of the recovery. Crafts [micro businesses] and SMEs were hit as hard as private households by the crisis, yet their deposits were covered only in a few Member States in case of bank failure. Today’s proposal will ensure that coverage will apply to SMEs across the board, in all cases and in all countries. This will hopefully help in restoring trust in Europe’s financial system. We call on the European Parliament and on the European Council to give the green light to Commissioner Barnier’s proposal as soon as possible.”
UEAPME stands for the Union Européenne de l'Artisanat et des Petites et Moyenne Entreprises. UEAPME is comprised of one member organisation from each of the Member
States. The UK’s representative is currently the Genesis Initiative, of which ICB chief executive, Garry Carter, is chairman of its Policy Senate. Genesis represents more than one hundred and fifty UK professional bodies, associations and membership organisations which between them represent in excess of one million SMEs. The ICB therefore has direct access to Europe and is able to get advance notice of any new legislation that could affect bookkeepers.
"Most new legislation that affects our daily lives in the UK now eminates from the EC’’, says ICB chief executive, Garry Carter.
"It is therefore vital that we recognise this and have the systems in place to monitor and react to any proposed changes. The problem is that Brussels generates such a huge amount of legislation that it takes a lot of time, firstly to read it, secondly to understand it and, thirdly, to decide if the ICB has anything to add to the debate.’’
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