Storm at the AMF: barely appointed president, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani suffered strong criticism because of her past at the head of the banking lobby, raising questions about the independence of the market policeman.
Denouncing "
a broken balance
" at the top of the Financial Markets Authority, the founder and leader of the NGO Finance Watch, Thierry Philipponnat resigned from his mandate within the College of the AMF (Financial Markets Authority), the main decision-making body.
The AMF college is made up of 16 members, and is chaired by Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani.
In particular, it is responsible for adopting new regulations, clarifying the positions of the AMF and initiating sanction procedures.
Thierry Philipponnat had been a member since 2013 and his second five-year term should have ended in 2023. But he resigned on Wednesday, the official day of the start of the duties of Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani.
The appointment of the latter had been proposed in mid-September by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, then approved by Parliament.
"A matter of principle"
"
It's not a personal problem
" with Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, assures AFP Thierry Philipponnat.
“
The problem is that, when we put a person in the presidency who has a career as the patroness of the biggest financial lobby in France, we break a delicate balance
” within the market policeman, according to him.
Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani led the French Banking Federation and the French Banking Association between 2014 and 2019. Currently administrator of the Belgian bank Dexia on behalf of the French State, she has promised to resign from her mandate and to not deal with matters related to Dexia at the AMF.
"
The AMF must at all costs preserve its independence to have credibility
", and this passes, according to her "
by the collegiality
", of the body, she also assured during her hearing at the National Assembly.
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire had assured in the program Cash Investigation in 2021 that "
ethics require that it does not deal with questions relating to banks
" since his return to Bercy as secretary general of the Ministry of Accounts public after 2019.
Read alsoFor the first time, the AMF appoints a woman to its chairmanship
His hearings did not change Thierry Philipponnat's decision, initiated as soon as his name was announced by the Presidency of the Republic, due to "
a question of principle
".
“
I have no reason to impugn intentions, but that doesn't change anything: there is the reality of the decisions and the perception.
And when it comes to finance, perception is as important as reality.
Finance is about trust
,” he explains.
"
I am not against a person who would have been at the head of a financial institution, but of a lobby yes
", he adds, believing that this past should have prevented him "
for life
" from exercising the presidency of the AMF.
Model change
Still a member of the ACPR, the banking policeman, Thierry Philipponnat participated in the founding of the NGO Finance Watch, based in Brussels, of which he is chief economist.
He had applied during the first public call for candidates for the president of the AMF in 2017, insisting on his career in civil society, but did not take part in that of 2022. The AMF did not did not respond to requests from AFP.
The resignation is above all a message addressed "
to the public authorities
", also declared Thierry Philipponnat.
“
It's not a question of people but of the organization of society
,” he repeats.
He is not the only one to have regretted this appointment.
It "
confirms a new career model for senior civil servants: to access one of the most prestigious and best paid positions in the French administration, a long passage through the private sector is desirable
", estimated on Twitter Kévin Gernier , at Transparency International France.
It is "
a major change
" compared to the old typical profile, "
a senior official of the great bodies with a 100% public career
", he describes.
A profile embodied perfectly by Robert Ophèle, the predecessor of Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani at the head of the AMF.
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