ECB to Start Supervising Large Investment Firms as Law Changes

The European Central Bank said it will start overseeing “systemic” investment firms as a long-planned legal change adds to responsibilities that have steadily expanded in recent years.

Firms with more than 30 billion euros ($35.8 billion) of assets that underwrite or trade financial instruments on their own account will now have to apply for banking licenses under new legislation that takes effect this week, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.