Time to get nerdy about financial services. Portuguese Commissioner-designate for the sector, Maria Luís Albuquerque, faces her turn for a grilling by the European Parliament on Wednesday. The hearing, and the vote which follows, will decide the EPP candidate’s political future, as well as chart the course for the next five years of EU financial services policy.  The former Portuguese finance minister was a surprise winner of the brawl for the FS portfolio, beating out strong competition from Ireland and Austria to win the nomination. So far, she’s kept her cards close to her chest on her policy direction, giving little away in her written responses to MEPs’ questions ahead of the hearings, so today’s Q+A should give us more answers.  For where Albuquerque fits in policy-wise with the other future commissioners (they hope), see our story here. We’ll be bringing you all the live action from 9 a.m. CET on Nov. 6.  You can watch the hearing live here. Background reading:  * How the hearings work  * Who’s most likely to get the chop  PS. If you want to follow more of the action from the hearings, our reporters will be bringing you blow-by-blow updates from all 26 commissioner interviews here.