Isabelle Buscke became Secretary General of Finance Watch in January 2026. Finance Watch is an independent European non-profit organisation advocating for a financial sector that serves citizens' interests. Buscke is an EU financial policy and consumer protection expert with extensive European advocacy experience. In the first part of the interview, AK EUROPA spoke with her about current EU initiatives, such as the EU Savings and Investment Union (SIU) and the digital euro. The second part is devoted to sustainable finance, lobbying and financial stability and will be published in the next newsletter.

AK EUROPA: What are the goals and responsibilities of Finance Watch?

Buscke: Finance Watch is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. We are a product of the financial crisis of 2008. Following the collapse of the Lehman Brothers Bank in the United States and the domino effect that this triggered, a significant amount of taxpayers' money was spent on stabilising the financial system. Our organisation was established by consumer associations, environmental groups and trade unions as a civil society entity. Our role is to inform legislation and offer expertise on what a financial system that benefits people should look like. Our core belief is that the financial system should be resilient enough to avoid the need for taxpayer bailouts or outside interventions. It should support the productive real economy, not just itself. We address decision-makers at EU level, i.e. the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. We are also collaborating with the three European and national financial market supervisors. In addition, we inform the public about current issues that often seem very complex but have concrete implications for all of us.

AK EUROPA: What financial market policy issues are currently being discussed at EU level? And are there any important challenges that are not receiving enough attention?

Buscke: From a political perspective, the SIU would receive particular emphasis. The background being that the capital markets in Europe are not well integrated within a single market. As a result, many financial investments flow into the United States. One of the SIU's ambitions is to ensure that the money remains in Europe. But the current regulatory framework does not support this well. However, given the challenging economic climate, there is greater need for increased investment. This is the Commission's analysis and that is why the issue dominates current discussions. The SIU is a huge bouquet of individual measures and we are pursuing some of them.

But we are also concerned about other issues that do not often make the headlines. Following the financial crisis, banks were better regulated, to which Finance Watch also contributed. We now have more data and a better understanding of how ‘healthy’ banks are. But in addition to banks, there are funds, investment managers, insurance companies and many other players. These are still not sufficiently regulated. In the past, these were grouped under the term ‘shadow banks’. As the name suggests, there is a lack of transparency. Many reports, including those from the European Central Bank (ECB), indicate rising risks in this area. External shocks, such as a stock market crash, can ignite these risks and lead to a new financial and economic crisis. In 2027, the European Commission will conduct a stress test for these non-bank financial institutions to understand exactly where the risks lie. We will also publish a report on shadow banks in a few weeks. Experts also caution that the excitement over investing in artificial intelligence may be creating a market bubble. And we continue to see a great deal of investment in climate-damaging activities. If climate change worsens, these investments will be lost.

AK EUROPA: The SIU is all about deepening the capital market. Does the SIU increase the risks mentioned? Or is there potential to bring the financial market closer to the real economy?

Buscke: There is no clear answer yet. For instance, the Commission suggests easing rules on securitisation, a process where loans are repackaged and sold as financial products. This practice was among the factors that contributed to the previous financial crisis. The aim is to give banks more leeway to grant loans to the real economy. We take a critical view of this because it creates false incentives. Firstly, because we know how dangerous it is, and secondly, because there is no guarantee that it will actually lead to more investment in the real economy. Currently, banks have enough liquidity to issue loans. Instead, they are paying out high dividends and increasing salaries at management level. However, we also recognise the problem of capital market fragmentation. Having national rules for capital markets  - which could potentially be globally connected – doesn’t make much sense. We would support harmonised supervision with clear rules that are easier to follow.

AK EUROPA: The digital euro aims to offer a public European option alongside cash and foreign payment systems. What is your perspective on this project?

Buscke: The digital euro is the digital version of the existing euro. An infrastructure needs to be created with payment terminals and top-up options for loading the digital euro into personal digital wallets. For example, it could be loaded onto a card, similar to former telephone cards. This could also be used offline, which can offer advantages, for example in the event of power outages. On the other hand, it could work via digital devices such as smartphones. You could use a digital wallet for digital payments, as many people already do. This would have the advantage of being a currency rather than purely a payment system, as we know from Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and other providers. The digital euro would also make us independent of US – and, in future, also Chinese – payment service providers. Overall, the aim is to create a sovereign and independent digital payment infrastructure. Finance Watch considers this to be a fundamentally good, forward-looking idea. We are committed to ensuring that the digital euro is accessible to everyone, including those without a permanent residence or access to bank accounts. It should be user-friendly, for example with a card or terminal and it must ensure privacy is respected. Payments and transactions should be less expensive than today's digital payment systems.

This interview has been split into two parts. The second part will follow in the next issue of our newsletter.

Further information:

European Commission: Savings and investments union: better financial opportunities for EU citizens and businesses
European Central Bank: Digital Euro
AK EUROPA: New name, old challenges. The EU Savings and Investment Union
AK EUROPA: Digital Euro. Improvements for consumers required!
AK EUROPA: Katze aus dem Sack: Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise wird endgültig zur Beschäftigungskrise (The cat is out of the bag: financial and economic crisis finally becomes an employment crisis) – German only
AK Wien: Schattenbanken in Europa (shadow banks in Europe) – German only
Finance Watch: More risk, no reward? The strange revival of securitisation