Finance Watch

Finance Watch is a European non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on financial regulation. Based in Brussels, the organization focuses on financial regulation in the European Union. Finance Watch was founded in 2011 by members of the European Parliament as a counterbalance to the financial lobby. Its mission is "to strengthen the voice of society in the reform of financial regulation by conducting advocacy and presenting public interest arguments to lawmakers and the public as a counterweight to the private interest lobbying of the financial industry". Background Finance Watch was founded on 30 June 2011 as a consequence of a petition initiated in June 2010 by 22 members of the European Parliament, including members of all major political groups (ALDE, EPP, Greens-EFA, GUE/NGL, and S&D). This call for action was signed by another 140 elected officials from across Europe, and led to an exploratory project funded by the initiators, which in turn resulted in the founding General Assembly on 30 June 2011. Ieke van den Burg, a former MEP, was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors and Thierry Philipponnat, a former banker and Amnesty International executive in France, became the Secretary General. In January 2017, Benoît Lallemand became Secretary General.