Abstract : Financial reforms in response to the 2008 crisis were subject to intense lobbying. Many believe that financial
industry groups entirely ‘captured’ this regulatory process and tilted legislation towards their preferences.
Drawing on her winning thesis at the 2016 PADEMIA Research Awards, Lisa Kastner shows that in the
aftermath of the crisis, when the public paid attention to the financial reforms, members of the European
Parliament (MEPs) worked closely together with civil society groups to bring about reforms despite the
opposition of the financial industry.