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15 November 2012

This week in "Brussels"



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Articles from 08 November 2012 - 15 November 2012

Banking

ECOFIN: Main results of the Council - Bank capital requirements / Bank supervision
The Council confirmed its commitment to reach an agreement with the Parliament on CRD IV before the end of the year. Experts will continue to work on the bank supervision proposals, with the aim of reaching an agreement at the Council's meeting on 4 December.  View Article
DG ECFIN: Vienna 2 Full Forum focuses on deleveraging and bank resolution
The European Bank Coordination ("Vienna") Initiative held its fifth Full Forum Meeting in Brussels on 9 November, 2012. Vienna 2 provides support by offering a coordination platform and strengthening the voice of host countries.  View Article
Gunnar Hökmark MEP: Europe needs better bank rules
The rapporteur on banking resolution comments that the growing discussion on how to create a so-called multi-speed EU of inner and outer cores, including the proposal for a new euro area banking supervisor within the ECB, offers the wrong answer to Europe's troubles.   View Article
Reuters: Divisions overshadow Europe's plan to control banks
Divisions in Europe over a new regime to supervise banks overshadowed fresh attempts by EU finance ministers on Tuesday to agree a centrepiece reform that some officials fear could unravel.  View Article
From the internal market to a banking union: A proposal by the German Council of Economic Experts
There are severe flaws in the EU internal market; common monetary policy has not been accompanied by the transfer of authority to supervise banks; and risks of banks and states have become dangerously intertwined. This column summarises a proposal for a full banking union which aims at correcting these deficits.  View Article
Emilio Botín: Europe needs to embrace banking union
In an article for the FT, the head of Spain's biggest bank writes that "banking union is an ambitious, complex and difficult process, both operationally and politically, but we cannot afford to postpone it".  View Article
EBA launches consultation on technical standards on cooperatives, mutuals, savings institutions and similar institutions
The proposed draft RTS on own funds (Part 2) intend to specify the conditions under which competent authorities may determine that a type of undertaking is recognised under applicable national law as a mutual, cooperative society, savings institution or similar institution.  View Article
Eurosystem's response to the Commission's consultation on the regulation of indices
The Eurosystem believes that there is significant scope for Euribor reform and that there are a number of measures that can be taken to increase the market's confidence in Euribor's reliability, representativeness and resilience.  View Article
BBA consults on implementing Wheatley Libor reforms
Following the recommendations of the Wheatley Review of Libor, the British Bankers' Association has issued a consultation on how initial changes will be implemented. Deadline for comments is 8 December, 2012.  View Article
Finance Watch publishes response to High-Level Expert Group's report on reforming structure of EU banking sector
The Finance Watch consultation response concludes that the Liikanen proposals are the minimum needed, and that robust structural reform of banks would boost growth and stability in the EU.  View Article
EBA Discussion Paper on Draft Regulatory Standards on Prudent Valuation
EBA presents its views on the application of prudent valuation requirements to all positions that are measured at fair value, as provided for under Articles 31 and 100 of the draft CRR, and on how valuation adjustments could in practice be applied by institutions in a consistent manner.  View Article
Bloomberg: EU officials draft some compromises on Basel bank law
The European Union edged closer to settling how to impose Basel bank capital rules on its lenders, after officials and lawmakers drafted potential compromises on parts of the regulatory overhaul.  View Article
Federal Reserve System: Agencies provide guidance on regulatory capital rulemakings
In light of the volume of comments received and the wide range of views expressed during the comment period, the US federal banking agencies do not expect that any of the proposed rules would become effective on January 1, 2013. (Includes SIFMA statement.)  View Article
ICFR/Andrews: Basel IV - What to expect
With several high-profile regulatory officials having questioned fundamental aspects of the Basel framework, this note looks at how the intense debate has reached this point, and at clues as to where it might be headed. It speculates on the eventual shape of what will (inevitably) become Basel IV.  View Article
Simon Nixon: Bank capital question must be resolved
Five years after the financial crisis broke, the question of how much capital a bank should hold is still not resolved, particularly in the UK where it is reaching new levels of intensity, comments Nixon in his WSJ column.  View Article
HM Treasury: Changes to cash management operations
On 9 November 2012, the UK Government agreed with the Bank of England to transfer to the Exchequer the excess cash held in the Bank's Quantitative Easing (QE) facility.  View Article
ECRI: Single Market Act II announces Commission's further plans for retail payments framework
The European Credit Research Institute published information linked to the Single Market Act II and the Commission's further plans for retail payments framework.  View Article
Improving the BIS international banking statistics
A report released by the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) documents a series of enhancements which are designed to make significant and long-lasting improvements to the international banking statistics (IBS) collected by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).  View Article
Bank of Finland: The crisis and the regulatory initiatives it triggered will reshape banking
The euro area debt crisis and ongoing initiatives to remedy the defects detected in banking regulation will strongly reshape the operating environment of European banks, according to the Bank of Finland's Financial Market Report 2/2012.  View Article

Securities

ESMA publishes an update of the list of waivers under MiFID
This update concerns the pre-trade transparency waiver SK 1. The content of the document is aimed at competent authorities under MiFID to ensure that in their supervisory activities their actions are converging in accordance with the opinions provided by ESMA.  View Article
ESMA announces enforcement priorities for 2012 financial statements
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a set of priority issues to be used by EU national competent authorities in their assessment of listed companies' 2012 financial statements. (Includes link to speech by Steven Maijoor.)  View Article
ICMA responds to EC Consultation Paper on Liikanen's recommendations
The ICMA has responded to the Commission's consultation on the recommendations of the Liikanen High-level Expert Group. To separate securities trading activity, possibly isolating it from primary market activity, will have potentially significant adverse impacts on the international capital market  View Article
EACT/Raeburn: Derivatives regulation - Is the real economy ready for implementation?
In his blog, Raeburn writes that as the derivatives regulatory bandwagon moves forward towards implementation, it is unsurprising that the end-users of derivatives – aka the real economy – should be encouraged to focus on what implementation of the new regulatory framework requires of them.  View Article
IPE: CICF - Collateral increasingly 'scarce' for pension funds
The Collateral Initiatives Coordination Forum (CICF) has warned European regulators over the "scarcity" of collateral at a time when the new EMIR regulation is expected to increase the collateral burden for pension funds.  View Article
ECMI: Europe's new post-trade infrastructure rules
This paper discusses the impact of the new rules, and argues that analogous to the unexpected impact of MiFID on trading infrastructures, a similar EMIR revolution may be on its way.  View Article
Canadian Securities regulators seek comment on the regulation of market data fees
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment CSA Consultation Paper 21-401 Real-Time Market Data Fees, which discusses issues related to the cost of real-time market data and seeks stakeholder feedback on options to manage these issues. Deadline for comment is 8 February, 2013.  View Article

Insurance

EFAMA comments on the European Commission proposal for a Directive of the EP/EC on insurance mediation
EFAMA fully supports the policy objectives the Commission seeks to achieve with the overall PRIPs initiative.  View Article
ABI: November Bulletin - Solvency II
Solvency II is a new European regulatory regime for insurers, which will fundamentally change the capital requirements of the insurance industry and introduce a new form of risk management in the supervision of insurers.   View Article
Risk.net: Norwegian regulator to ease internal model timetable in wake of Solvency II delays
The Norwegian financial regulator, Finanstilsynet, is set to change its timetable for the pre-application process for internal model approval, in response to the expected delay to Solvency II. The French regulator is also considering adjusting the pre-approval schedule.  View Article
Risk.net: Insurers hope for agreement on long-term guarantees assessment
Insurers are hoping that political agreement can be reached on the terms of reference of the European Commission's impact assessment on long-term guarantees so that the project can begin in early December.  View Article
FT: Regulation pushes up costs for insurers
UK general insurers are spending an average of 1 per cent of the premiums they garner complying with regulations, according to a survey of some of the biggest companies in the sector.  View Article
Risk.net: Mutuals warn of capital threat from UK 'twin peaks' regulation
Uncertainty over the treatment of with-profits fund surpluses under the UK's new 'twin peaks' regulatory regime could threaten mutual insurers' ability to trade, mutuals warn.  View Article
Insurance Insight: Environmental risk concerns top list for mid-size European companies
Ace Group's latest study identified environmental risk as the top emerging concern for 38 per cent of companies in the UK, 33 per cent in France, and 35 per cent of mid-sized companies across Europe generally.  View Article
CRE: Risk managers must increase focus on corporate ethics, hears Sirm conference
Risk managers should pay more attention to corporate ethics to help ensure their companies prosper, Josef Naef, Business Ethicist from the Bern-based University of Applied Sciences, told Swiss risk managers at their annual meeting in Pfäffikon near Zurich this week.  View Article
Insurance Insight: Insurers urged to check books as S&P held accountable for 'misleading' rating
Insurers have been urged by a leading lawyer to check their books to see whether they have open notifications from credit rating agencies, after an Australian court ruled that Standard & Poor's was liable for damages to investors.  View Article
Insurance Insight: Asia-Pacific only bright spot in bleak outlook for insurers for 2013
Asia-Pacific and emerging economies are the only bright spots in an otherwise bleak outlook for the insurance sector in 2013.  View Article

Asset Management

AMF issues Instruction 2011-19 (procedures, KIID, UCITS)
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers issued its Instruction 2011-19 detailing authorisation procedures, preparation of a KIID and a prospectus, and reporting for French and foreign UCITS marketed in France.  View Article
AMF amends General Regulation provisions on CIS and OPCIs
The amendments to the AMF's General Regulation concern services providers, collective investment schemes (CIS) and real estate collective investment schemes (OPCIs).  View Article
FSA launches consultation on Implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers' Directive
This Consultation Paper is the first of two on rules and guidance to transpose the requirements of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers' Directive (AIFMD) into UK law. Deadline for comments is 1 February, 2013.  View Article
FSA: Conflicts of interest between asset managers and their customers - Identifying and mitigating the risks
The regulator found that most of the firms visited could not demonstrate that customers avoid inappropriate costs and have fair access to all suitable investment opportunities.  View Article
IMA responds to FSA paper on conflict of interest
Mr Godfrey, IMA Chief Executive-designate, said that the integrity of the management of conflicts of interest is at the heart of trust in asset management, and that the FSA has clearly identified important issues of concern.  View Article
FN: Bernardino draws fire over EIOPA's need for speed
Pension fund organisations across Europe have been slightly less impressed by the speed with which Bernardino's organisation, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, has required them to move in recent months.  View Article
IPE: Czech second-pillar pension system passes final hurdle
Czech parliamentarians have finally cleared the way for the country's second-pillar pension system to start operating in 2013.  View Article
IPE: Hedge funds - what's wrong with a 0 per cent return?
Martin Steward argues that it might be best to judge hedge funds' diversification benefits by their optionality, as opposed to the conventional risk/return metrics.  View Article

Corporate Governance/Accounting

IFAC: IAASB's proposal for disclosures beyond the financial statements
The IAASB released for public comment proposed ISA 720 (Revised), 'The Auditor's Responsibilities Relating to Other Information in Documents Containing or Accompanying Audited Financial Statements and the Auditor's Report Thereon'. Comments on the exposure draft are requested by March 14, 2013.  View Article
FT: Call for transparent debt arrangements
The head of the ESMA has called for banks in the European Union to be transparent about the extent to which they have gone easy on borrowers who have missed repayments or otherwise breached loan conditions.   View Article
FRC: Amendments to actuarial standards in relation to pension incentive exercises
The FRC has today extended the scope of its technical actuarial standards (TASs) to include actuarial work on pension incentive exercises.  View Article
FRC/Fleck: The importance of confidence in financial reporting
Richard Fleck, Chair of the FRC Conduct Committee, gave a speech on the activities of the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP), the Financial Reporting Laboratory, and the importance of confidence in financial reporting.  View Article
FT: Lease accounting change faces objections
The IASB and the FASB face an "uphill battle" in their attempt to force listed companies around the world to show leasing obligations on their balance sheets, according to one of the main proponents of the change.  View Article
ASCG's analysis of the IASB's review draft on hedge accounting
The ASCG commented on the IASB Review Draft "Hedge Accounting". In order to submit its findings early, the ASCG provided remarks on what it deems illustrate 'fatal' flaws, i.e. inconsistencies within the text, inappropriate wording, or imperfect structure.  View Article
ACCA: IFRS in the US - Adoption will happen in the long run
US investors expect that the country will eventually adopt IFRS, but that the process will take time and need substantial investment in staff and training, finds new research from ACCA published in a report called 'IFRS in the US: An investor's perspective'.  View Article

Financial Services Policy

Risk.net: Structured Products Europe - PRIPs scope could be extended, says EC official
European legislators are discussing the EC's proposals on packaged retail investment products – and some believe the scope of the regulation should be extended.  View Article
Finance Watch publishes position paper on Packaged Retail Investment Products (PRIPs)
Finance Watch, the Brussels-based public interest advocacy group, has published a position paper, "Towards suitable investment decisions?", on the EU's proposal for a regulation on Key Information Documents for Investment Products.  View Article

European Council/Parliament

ECOFIN: Main results of the Council - Economic Governance, Second Package
The Council amended its negotiating position on the so-called "two-pack" of proposals aimed at further improving economic governance in the euro area.   View Article
ECOFIN: Main results of the Council - Financial Transaction Tax
The Council took stock of developments with the introduction of an FTT in a number of Member States wishing to participate in an enhanced cooperation, and discussed how to proceed with the dossier. The Commission presented its proposal for a decision to authorise enhanced cooperation in this field.  View Article
Commission Communication on tax fraud and tax evasion - Council conclusions
At the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on 13 November, the Council adopted conclusions on tax fraud and tax evasion.  View Article

Graham Bishop’s Articles and Speeches

Top 40 British 'influencers' on EU policy revealed by EurActiv - Graham Bishop in the list
EurActiv has published the first ever ranking of the 40 most influential Britons on current EU policy-making. ECON chair Sharon Bowles MEP tops the ranking, DG Internal Market and Service's Jonathan Faull is in the second spot, while Graham Bishop comes in at number 33.  View Article





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