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04 October 2018

This week in "Brussels"
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Banking Union Capital Markets Union Insurance
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  Articles from 27 September 2018 - 04 October 2018

  Banking Union
 
 
EBF: Financing The Europe of tomorrow: How to unlock Europe’s latent growth potential
“An integrated, single European financial sector that fuels dynamic, sustainable and strong economic growth” is the vision of new EBF published vision paper titled ‘Financing the Europe of Tomorrow’.  View Article
EBF: Online platforms: EBF position on legislative proposal
The EBF supports the timely approach of the EU Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services.   View Article
Financial Times: Alternatives to Libor begin to make an impact
Large institutions have already issued bonds linked to new benchmarks such as Sofr and Sonia.  View Article
European parliament: Third country equivalence in EU banking and financial regulation
This briefing provides an insight into the latest regulatory developments on equivalence in EU banking and financial regulation, including elements of the on-going ESA review, the Investment Firm Review, and EMIR 2.2 that are being discussed at the European Parliament and the Council.   View Article
ECB's Draghi: Welcome remarks at the third annual conference of the ESRB
Mario Draghi, President of the ECB and Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board, speaks about the use of macroprudential tools over recent years, how the toolkit needs to keep pace with new developments, and the need for high-quality data.  View Article
BIS: CPMI releases latest Red Book payments statistics in new interactive format
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) published new data on payments and financial market infrastructures through to end-2017. With this year's edition, the information is presented in an improved format via the BIS Statistics Explorer, an interactive tool for navigating BIS data.  View Article
Financial Times: Policymakers share blame for the shadow banking boom
Over the past couple of weeks, three different policymakers from the European Central Bank have spoken in concerned tones about the risks posed to the financial system by the growing role of “shadow banking”.  View Article
 
  Capital Markets Union
 
 
ESMA's Maijoor: The state of implementation of MIFID II and preparing for Brexit
Steven Maijoor outlined ESMA’s work towards the full and efficient implementation of MiFID II and its preparations in case of a no deal Brexit.   View Article
ESMA letter to European Commission on MiFID II/MiFIR third-country regimes
ESMA has written to the European Commission in relation to additional issues concerning some MiFID II/MiFIR requirements on investor protection and intermediaries.  View Article
ECMI - Capital Markets, Debt Finance and the EU Capital Markets Union: A law and finance critique
Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper contends that the excessive development of capital market finance has been one of the catalysts behind the crises and scandals that have unfolded over the past 15 years.  View Article
EBF position on legislative proposals on covered bonds
The EBF supports the objectives of the European Commission’s proposals to promote further integration of EU financial markets and to advance the Capital Markets Union (CMU) project.  View Article
European Parliamentary Research Service: Sovereign bond-backed securities: Risk diversification and reduction
The proposal seeks to provide an enabling framework for a market-led development of SBBS, thus encouraging banks and investors to diversify their holdings of euro area bonds.  View Article
ESMA withdraws MiFID automated trading guidelines following their incorporation into MiFID II
ESMA announced the withdrawal of MiFID guidelines on systems and controls in an automated trading environment for trading platforms, investments firms and competent authorities.  View Article
ESMA updates its Q&As regarding the Benchmark Regulation
The purpose of these Q&As is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of BMR. It aims at providing investors and other market participants with clarifications on the applicable requirements.  View Article
ESMA updates Q&As on MiFID II and MiFIR investor protection and intermediaries
The purpose of this Q&A is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MiFID II and MiFIR.  View Article
ESMA updates its Q&As on MiFID II and MiFIR commodity derivatives topics
The purpose of these Q&As is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MiFID II and MiFIR. They provide responses to questions raised by market participants in relation to the application of the level 1 and level 2 provisions relating to commodity derivatives.  View Article
Financial Times: MiFID II starts to weave its influence through markets
MiFID rules designed to curb inducements, which affected brokers who offered research for free as a ploy to attract managers to trade with them, have begun to hurt brokers, who have suffered a dramatic fall in commissions.  View Article
ESMA publishes final report amending RTS on the clearing obligation for intragroup transactions
The report presents a new set of draft regulatory technical standards on the clearing obligation. The draft RTS relate to the deferred date of application for the treatment of certain intragroup transactions concluded with a third country group entity.  View Article
ISDA and KWM publish practical framework for constructing smart derivatives contracts
ISDA and law firm King & Wood Mallesons published a new whitepaper that sets out the steps for developing smart derivatives contracts, part of ISDA’s broader work to drive further standardisation in derivatives markets and facilitate automation.  View Article
Notice of ESMA’s Product Intervention Renewal Decision in relation to binary options
The Decision renews and amends ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/795.  View Article
ESMA updates the Q&As on ESMA’s temporary product intervention measures
The updated Q&As provide clarification on the application of the temporary product intervention measures in relation to rolling spot forex.  View Article
ESMA updates its opinion on ancillary activity calculations
This updated opinion provides the estimation of the market size of commodity derivatives and emission allowances for the year 2017.  View Article
ICMA publishes discussion paper on CSDR mandatory buy-ins and securities financing transactions
The paper is intended to complement ICMA’s previous work on the topic of CSDR Settlement Discipline, due to come into force in September 2020, and focuses more specifically on the implementation challenges for in-scope repo and securities lending markets.  View Article
ESMA to renew restriction on CFDs for a further three months
ESMA agreed to renew the restriction on the marketing, distribution or sale of contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients, in effect since 1 August, from 1 November 2018 for a further three-month period.  View Article
ESMA to publish new data completeness indicators for trading venues
The two indicators – the Completeness Ratio and the Completeness Shortfall – will assist trading venues in delivering complete and accurate data on a timely basis, by providing performance information on the timeliness and completeness of their data provision.  View Article
ESMA updates the CSDR Q&As
This document is aimed at national competent authorities under the Regulation to ensure that, in their supervisory activities, their actions are converging along the lines of the responses adopted by ESMA.  View Article
ESMA will focus on supervisory convergence and supervision in 2019
ESMA published its 2019 Work Programme, which sets out its priorities and areas of focus for 2019 in support of ESMA’s mission to enhance investor protection and promote stable and orderly financial markets.  View Article
 
  Insurance
 
 
Insurance Europe: IFRS 17 must be good enough: it isn’t yet
European insurers are committed to a high-quality reporting standard for insurance contracts that improves insurers’ financial reporting. The industry therefore supports the new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17) for insurance contracts and is allocating considerable resources to prepare for its implementation.  View Article
Commercial Risk Europe: Insurance needs to be ‘reimagined’ for tech age, says DAC Beachcroft
Insurance will need to be “reimagined” as the changing risk landscape brings traditional insurance concepts into question, according to a report from DAC Beachcroft.  View Article
 
  Asset Management
 
 
ESAs highlight the relevance of legislative changes for the Key Information Document for PRIIPs
The European Supervisory Authorities wrote a letter to the European Commission expressing their concerns regarding the possibility of duplicating information requirements for investment funds from 1 January 2020 and the importance of legislative changes to avoid such a situation.   View Article
EFAMA calls on the European Commission to urgently postpone the UCITS exemption to protect consumers
EFAMA has called on the European Commission to postpone the UCITS exemption within the PRIIPS regulation, following a letter issued by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESMA, EIOPA and EBA).  View Article
Investment Association calls for consumer focused approach to reform PRIIPs regulation
The Investment Association outlines its solutions to the flaws of the Packaged Retail Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) regulation, in particular the methodology for calculating transaction costs.   View Article
CEPS: The PEPP could become the new UCITS
Critics of the PEPP will argue that the tax element is crucial if it is going to take off, meaning that contributions should be tax exempt, and that this will make or break the PEPP. A good design will steer some member states towards giving the product a favourable treatment, writes Karel Lannoo.  View Article
ESMA consults on stress testing rules for money market funds
ESMA opened a public consultation on how European money market funds (MMFs) should conduct their internal stress testing.  View Article
The Pensions Regulator: New law comes into force to protect pension savers
A new law comes into force to drive up standards in master trust pension schemes used by millions of people to save for retirement. Every new and existing master trust will now have to apply to TPR for authorisation to show they meet the new standards in the UK.   View Article
 
  Corporate Governance/Accounting
 
 
Accountancy Europe: Auditor reporting of key audit matters in the European banking sector
The survey published by Accountancy Europe provides insights on auditor’s reporting on key audit matters for more than 60 European banks. It aims to facilitate communication between banks, auditors and stakeholders on this important new requirement.  View Article
ESBG: Improving EU outsourcing guidelines
There is need for more clarity to distinguish between requirements related to outsourcing by banks that apply only to critical or important functions and to remaining functions, ESBG noted in its response to an EBA consultation on draft guidelines for outsourcing arrangements.   View Article
ECGI: Elective stock and scrip dividends
The ECGI has published a working paper on elective stock and scrip dividends. Payout policy is an important component of a firm’s ability to maintain financial flexibility.   View Article
ECA publishes opinion on proposed financial rules for European Development Fund
The ECA published an opinion on the EC’s proposal for a Council Regulation on the financial rules applicable to the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).  View Article
ECIIA: EBA’s draft regulations on outsourcing need tighter focus
The EBA’s draft Guidelines on outsourcing (EBA/CP/2018/11) should give more emphasis on the role of the first and second lines of defence in the oversight of outsourced activities, ECIIA has said in its written response to the consultation.  View Article
TriplePundit: Aligning the SDGs with integrated reporting
The IIRC’s president, Richard Howitt speaks to TriplePundit about the growth of integrated reporting, the new global strategic phase for the IIRC, and preparations for a major alignment project between different reporting frameworks.  View Article
FSB: Task Force report shows momentum building for climate-related financial disclosures
The FSB welcomed the publication of a report by the industry-led Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Status Report provides an overview of the extent to which companies in their 2017 reports included information aligned with the core TCFD recommendations.  View Article
 
  Market Abuse
 
 
ESMA updates market abuse Q&As
The purpose of the Q&A document is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MAR and its implementing measures.  View Article
 
  Anti-Money Laundering
 
 
Remarks by Vice-President Dombrovskis at the ECOFIN press conference
Mr Dombrovskis elaborated on the recent proposals aimed at making sure that anti-money laundering rules are enforced effectively across EU countries.  View Article
 
  Grahams Articles, Comments & Speeches
 
 
Churchill – a `founding father’ of the European Union – would vote to Remain
I have no doubt that Churchill would have voted to Remain In the European Union (...) he was one of its `founding fathers’ and its values represent the fulfilment of his life’s work.  View Article
 
  Political
 
 
Bloomberg: Fight for top EU job heats up as Finnish ex-premier enters race
Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb entered the contest for the top European Union job, seeking to steer the bloc after Brexit and become the first Nordic native in the post.  View Article
 
  Economic
 
 
VoxEU: Euro area reform: An anatomy of the debate
The report of a group of 14 French and German economists to put forward proposals for euro area reforms gave rise to a lively discussion. This column by Jean Pisani-Ferry summarises the group's proposals and also addresses some of the points raised in a subsequent Vox debate on the topic.  View Article
Main results - Economic and Financial Affairs Council
The Council discussed anti-money laundering supervision and reached political agreement on three VAT proposals: VAT rates for e-publications, a generalised reverse charge mechanism and a package of VAT quick fixes.  View Article
POLITICO: Trump gets trade win with new NAFTA deal
Trade ministers from the US, Mexico and Canada have reached a deal to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, in a new pact which is a major step toward completing one of the president’s signature campaign promises.  View Article
OMFIF: Central banks face 'hot breath' over QE
Political constraints on the US Federal Reserve and the ECB restarting large-scale asset purchases to combat a future recession will be much greater than after the 2008 financial crisis. That was a major conclusion of an OMFIF seminar in New York.  View Article
Volume of retail trade down by 0.2% in euro area
In August 2018 compared with July 2018, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 0.2% in the euro area (EA19) and remained unchanged in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat.  View Article
EU28 current account surplus €62.0 bn
The EU28 seasonally adjusted current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of €62.0 billion (1.6% of GDP) in the second quarter of 2018, down from a surplus of €68.2 billion (1.7% of GDP) in the first quarter of 2018.  View Article
Euro area unemployment at 8.1%
The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.1% in August 2018, down from 8.2% in July 2018 and from 9.0% in August 2017. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since November 2008.  View Article
September 2018: Economic Sentiment decreases in both the euro area and the EU
In September, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) decreased in both the euro area (by 0.7 points to 110.9) and the EU (by 0.9 to 111.3).  View Article
 

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