Financial stability remains a cornerstone of economic progress and societal resilience, ECR Rapporteur Johan van Overtveldt told the European Parliament, as he presented his report on strengthening resilience in uncertain times.

“With most of our attention focused on Greenland, Ukraine, Venezuela, Iran, and trade troubles, we tend to overlook issues related to financial stability, a cornerstone of economic progress and societal resilience”, van Overtveldt said speaking in Strasbourg.

Van Overtveldt’s report highlights emerging vulnerabilities in global financial markets and calls for greater vigilance from regulators and policymakers. It points to the rapid growth of non-bank financial institutions, new digital financial products, rising debt levels and increasing cyber risks as areas where shocks could spread quickly across the financial system if left unaddressed. The report also underlines the importance of independent central banking and a firm focus on price stability as anchors of confidence in uncertain times.

“Credit activity has clearly migrated to areas with less stringent regulations, leading to an explosion in credit activity by Non-Bank Financial Intermediation”, he said.

The ECR Group supports a pragmatic approach to financial stability: encouraging investment, innovation and competitive capital markets, while ensuring that authorities are equipped to identify risks early and prevent local disturbances from escalating into systemic crises.

“Major risks to financial stability require greater attention from authorities and regulators, especially in a world where algorithmic trading represents two-thirds of overall trading volumes”, van Overtveldt concluded.

The report will be put to a vote in the European Parliament on Tuesday.