Critics often complain that the European Banking Federation, the bank lobbying group, needs a strong leader to advance the cause of harmonizing financial regulations within the European Union. Last month those critics got their wish: The EBF appointed former BNP Paribas chief Michel Pébereau as its new president. The regal-looking 62-year-old French banker succeeds Maurizio Sella, who for the past six years headed the EBF while running his family's bank in Biella, Italy.

The changing of the guard, says one senior European banker, "signals a new desire to unite under the EBF's banner." During Sella's tenure the Fédération Bancaire Française was one of many national trade associations -- the EBF comprises 26 -- that did its own lobbying in Brussels when it didn't think the EBF was looking after its interests.

The forceful Pébereau stepped down in 2003 after four years as CEO of BNP Paribas. He will remain the bank's chairman, however, while running the EBF. In 1999, when he headed BNP, a largely retail bank, Pébereau paid E17.7 billion ($18.9 billion) for Paribas, a leading corporate lender, creating the European Union's third-largest banking group.

As a seasoned banker and former Trésor official, Pébereau won't reveal his plans for the EBF, which represents 4,500 banks. He's almost as cagey about his own priorities: "My goals as chairman will be defined by the executive committee. What I can say now is that I hope to help facilitate the development of a pan-European financial services market."

Nonetheless, Pébereau is sure to push the European Commission and the European Parliament to harmonize consumer codes. "In my opinion, consumer protection laws have more direct impact on the products sold by banks and the IT systems used to manage those products than either taxes or different regulatory bodies," he says. "Different consumer protection laws mean that BNP Paribas has to have different IT systems, marketing programs and regulatory compliance methods in every country in the EU where we are present." Presumably, Pébereau can be counted on to lobby for harmonization with real conviction.