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Europe must continue to strive for more streamlined regulation of financial services for the benefit of customers and banks, the British Bankers' Association said today.

Better co-ordination, less duplication and the need for regulators to be close to the markets and banks they regulate are among BBA recommendations to the Lamfalussy review into European financial regulation.

The review concerns the "Lamfalussy process", launched in 2001 to ensure faster and smarter policy making for specialised EU rules and directives. The process - named after respected central banker Alexandre Lamfalussy who chaired the EU advisory committee – is focused on consultation, and monitoring and evaluating how the eventual rules are implemented across the EU.

In a new report, the BBA says the process is robust and effective and has brought about more discussion and better understanding among Europe’s financial services markets and regulators. But it recommends further improvements and points to the need to reduce the duplication and expense associated with multiple regulators under current arrangements.

BBA Chief Executive Angela Knight CBE said:

"There have been times when learning to get Lamfalussy to work has been frustrating and slow, but we are through most of them now."

"We need to build on the positives to create the right regulatory environment: sensitive to the needs of the industry and the consumer. Our goal is a competitive industry in a flexible, responsive environment - which is good for customers and banks alike."