Introduction

The European Forum of Deposit Insurers (EFDI) was established on 11 October 2002 in Vienna when 25 deposit-guarantee schemes signed an agreement. As of January 2012 the members of EFDI are 57 deposit-guarantee schemes representing 44 European countries. The Mutual Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund joined this association at the beginning of 2006.

The EFDI is a non-profit association, registered in Brussels under Belgian Law. Considering the European Commission’s growing interest in the EFDI and its increasing responsibilities, EDFI decided to change its legal status and become an international non-profit association.

Goals and Objectives

The EFDI was originally founded in order to contribute to the stability of financial systems, while promoting cooperation in the field of deposit guarantee. Since its very beginning, the EFDI has aimed at facilitating dialogue among members as well as exchanging expertise and information on issues of mutual interest and concern.

The EFDI’s main goals are the:

• Exchange of experiences;
• Review of cross-border issues, including the promotion of cooperation between EFDI member countries;
• Establishment of links between deposit-guarantee schemes;
• Discussion of the application of the Directive 94/19/EC on deposit-guarantee schemes;
• Provision of information to non-EFDI member countries, third parties and the general public.

Activities

During its first two years, the EFDI’s primary aim was to encourage members to meet, communicate and share information and experiences. Then, EFDI's activities also concentrated on further exploring institutional problems and organising various seminars for its members.

EFDI has also collaborated with major international financial organisations like the European Central Bank, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Banking Federation, and the International Association of Deposit Insurers among others.

Following a request by the European Commission, EFDI has played a primary role acting as an interface in the review of Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on deposit-guarantee schemes. In order to achieve this objective, EFDI set up five working groups.The goal of these groups is to analyse the six topics that the European Commission focused on during the review of Directive 19/94/EC. On the basis of this work, the European Commission will plan and draft non-binding master agreements and self-regulatory guidance for European deposit-guarantee schemes.

In addition to the previous commitments, the EFDI will investigate, analyse and explore cross-border issues, burden sharing and the efficiency of deposit-guarantee schemes in a financial crisis and many other matters. Furthermore, seminars and meetings on pertinent topics for deposit-guarantee schemes will continue to be organised under the aegis of this association with the collaboration of all its members.