Jan 13 (Reuters) - The European Union's three new financial watchdogs annnounced the names of top executives on Thursday, chairmen who will implement sweeping changes to supervision of the bloc's markets, banks and insurers.
The three new bodies have powers to agree rules binding on all banks, exchanges, insurers, investment firms, hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mutual funds in the 27-country EU.
Each of the authorities, which have replaced less powerful committees of regulators, have been selecting a full-time chairman and an executive director.
Those selected as chairmen will have to take part in confirmation hearings at the European Parliament.
EUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY (EBA)
Based in London, one of the EBA's key tasks this year will be to carry out another pan-EU bank stress test after last year's exercise was criticised for failing to spot weaknesses at Irish banks which have since had to be bailed out.
Chairman: Andrea Enria (Italy): Enria, 49, currently heads the Bank of Italy's supervisory regulations and policies department. He was secretary general of the EBA's predecessor, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), from 2004-08.
EUROPEAN SECURITIES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY (ESMA)
Based in Paris, the ESMA has begun fleshing out measures to implement tougher rules on hedge funds and will play a key role in reforming the EU's securities trading law this year.
Chairman: Steven Maijoor (The Netherlands): Maijoor, 46, has been with Dutch watchdog AFM since 2004, overseeing financial reporting, auditing and integrity issues in financial markets.
He was vice chairman and then chairman of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) from 2007-10. He is also a part-time professor at Maastricht University and the VU University.
EUROPEAN INSURANCE AND OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS AUTHORITY (EIOPA)
Based in Frankfurt, the EIOPA's top task is to implement sweeping new rules known as Solvency II to protect consumers by ensuring a better match between insurers' capital safety cushions and the risks they have on their books.
Chairman: Gabriel Bernardino (Portugal): Bernardino, 46, chaired EIOPA's forerunner, the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS), from October 2009 to December 2010.
Bernardino, who holds degrees in mathematics and statistics from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, is currently the Director General of the Directorate for Development and Institutional Relations at Portuguese insurance and pensions regulator ISP.
(Reporting by Jonthan Gould, Huw Jones, and Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Dan Lalor)