Adam Farkas steps down as EBA Executive Director

Adam Farkas has announced his resignation from his post as Executive Director of the European Banking Authority (EBA), which will be effective on 31 January 2020.

The EBA’s Board of Supervisors (BoS) has conducted an assessment of the potential conflict of interest arising from Farkas’ proposed future employment at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME).

In compliance with the EBA staff regulations and ethics rules, the BoS has decided that Farkas will no longer participate in the EBA’s policy and supervisory work and will focus exclusively on operational matters until 31 October 2019. For the remainder of his notice period, his duties will be reallocated until 31 January 2020.

The BoS has also decided to apply conditions on his future employment. Farkas cannot engage in lobbying or advocacy of the EBA, or have professional contacts with EBA staff, for 24 months after leaving the Authority. Farkas cannot advise his new organisation’s members or otherwise contribute to the activities of his new organisation on topics directly linked to the work he carried out during his last three years of service for 18 months after leaving the EBA.

José Manuel Campa, EBA Chairperson praised the contribution Adam Farkas has made in building up the EBA from its creation in 2011, ensuring its smooth and sound operation as it grew, and throughout its move in June 2019 from London, UK to its new seat in Paris, France.

Farkas was appointed as first Executive Director of the EBA in 2011 and his mandate was renewed in 2015 for another five-year term.

The EBA said it will soon start the recruitment process of a new Executive Director.

MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group said the conditions imposed by the European Banking Authority on Farkas’ change of employer were only a drop in the ocean.

He said that the weak conditions do not solve the fundamental problem of the conflict of interest.

“The crucial point is not whether Farkas lobbies the banking supervisor, but whether his insider knowledge goes directly to the banking lobby. Farkas interruption-free change damages the reputation of the banking supervisor. Instead of weak conditions, we need binding cool-off periods for sensitive posts in EU agencies,” Giegold said.

“A cool-off period of 24 months would make sense. It is an invitation to ignore the reality when each agency has its own rules.”
Giegold said that if the rules do not effectively prevent conflicts of interest, they need to be changed.

“When the European Parliament gives its annual discharge to EBA, we will raise the Farkas case. Conflicts of interest in EU agencies should be on the agenda of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs,” he said.

“We need an independent EU ethics authority to avoid such conflicts of interest. The Farkas case must be a wake-up call for European politics.”