We are focussed on the big themes for the next legislative period and are targeting the interaction of the driving forces of politics and economics as they force the required changes in over-arching financial regulation, thus promoting greater financial integration in Europe. Naturally, these factors include ESG and Fin Tech. Details of these services are here

My video invitation to the 158th Brussels for Breakfast on 14th January is here. Some seats are available at the live meeting at CISI, and I would be delighted to hear suggestions for topics that should be covered. E-mail me: Graham@grahambishop.com

Interested in Continuing Professional Development (CPD)? Please click here for our CPD services

Articles 19 December 2019 - 9 January 2020

Andrew Bailey - FT

 

Banking Union

The EBA calls on banks to consider long-term horizons in their strategies and business activities : The European Banking Authority published its Report on undue short-term pressures from the financial sector on corporations, which presents its analysis on the extent to which short-termism is present in the banking sector.  View Article

Bank of England: Andrew Bailey announced as new Governor of the Bank of England : The Chancellor has announced that Andrew Bailey will become the new Governor of the Bank of England from 16 March 2020.  View Article

Bloomberg: Europe’s money-laundering crackdown is expanding beyond banks : A new front is opening up in Europe’s battle with money laundering. After dirty-cash scandals involving hundreds of billions of euros rocked some of the continent’s biggest banks, the Baltic region - where one of the biggest cases yet erupted - has begun a fresh clampdown. View Article

EURACTIV: Germany’s incoming ECB board member opposes pumping cash into green assets : The European Central Bank should not favour so-called “green” assets in its multi-trillion-euro bond-buying programme or its work as bank supervisor, incoming ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said in an interview. View Article

IMF: Working paper: Post-crisis changes in global bank business models: A new taxonomy : This paper proposes a novel taxonomy to identify and track business model evolution for the 30 Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs). Drawing from banks’ reporting, it identifies strategies along four dimensions –consolidated lines of business and geographic orientation, and the funding models and legal entity structures of international operations. View Article

Financial Times: European banks issue record €100bn of ‘bail-in’ debt in 2019 : European lenders have issued about €100bn of new “bail-in” debt in 2019 to meet tougher post-crisis rules designed to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for future bank failures. Banks in Europe had already issued €94bn of “senior non-preferred” debt by early December.  View Article

FCA and Bank of England announce proposals for data reforms across the UK financial sector : The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England outlined their plans to develop their data and analytics capabilities.  View Article

European Commission: Financial services – improving resilience against cyberattacks (new rules) : The consultation aims to gather stakeholders’ views on the need for legislative improvements within the financial services acquis with a view to harmonise rules across the EU to make the financial sector more secure and resilient while alleviating compliance and administrative burdens. View Article

Bank of England consults on its proposals for stress testing the financial stability implications of climate change : The objective of the the 2021 Biennial Exploratory Scenario is to test the resilience of the largest banks and insurers to the physical and transition risks associated with different possible climate scenarios, and the financial system’s exposure more broadly to climate-related risk. View Article

Capital Markets Union

ESMA: further action needed on fees for credit ratings and Trade Repository services : The Report, building on 2018’s thematic work, highlights good practices implemented by CRAs and TRs in the areas of fee transparency, fee setting and costs monitoring. View Article

EIOPA: Advice on potential undue short-term pressures from financial markets : EIOPA found no clear evidence of undue short-termism in insurance and institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs), although their investment practices are sensitive to macroeconomic circumstances such as the persistent low interest rate environment. View Article

ESMA clarifies rules for CCPs’ membership criteria and due diligence : ESMA issued a report on a survey it conducted into membership arrangements and due diligence by central counterparties (CCPs) towards their clearing members. View Article

AFME, FIA, ICMA, ISDA and ISLA Publish Master Regulatory Reporting Agreement : The Master Regulatory Reporting Agreement gives market participants an option to use a single template to help them manage regulatory obligations and provide services related to reporting under EMIR and SFTR. View Article

EIOPA outlines key financial stability risks of the European insurance and pensions sector : The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority published its December 2019 Financial Stability Report of the (re)insurance and occupational pensions sectors in the European Economic Area.  View Article

EIOPA identifies areas where risks for consumers remain high, notably with unit-linked, credit life/credit protection, and add-on insurance : The EIOPA published its 2019 Consumer Trends Report outlining major developments in the insurance and pensions sectors affecting European consumers.  View Article

EBA publishes final draft standards on key aspects related to the implementation of the standardised approach for counterparty credit risk : These draft RTS specify key aspects of the SA-CCR and represent an important contribution to its smooth harmonised implementation in the EU.  View Article

Commercial Risk Europe: Cyber risk and insurance to be focus for March meeting of US and EU supervisors : The challenges and opportunities for the insurance sector in the US and EU related to cybersecurity risks, the cyber insurance market and the use of big data will be the core topic of discussion at a meeting of US and EU insurance supervisors in March. View Article

Joint position paper from the ESA stakeholder groups on the ESA review : In this Joint Position Paper, the Banking Stakeholder Group, the Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group, the Occupational Pension Schemes Stakeholder Group and the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group share their opinion on the upcoming change of the composition of the stakeholder groups. View Article

ICMA: European bond markets still facing challenges in 2nd year of MiFID II/R implementation : ICMA published a new report on the impact and challenges of MiFID II/R for the international bond markets two years after the regulatory regime took effect. View Article

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)

ESMA clarifies SFTR reporting : The ESMA has published its final report, its Guidelines on reporting under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), amended SFTR validation rules and a statement on Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI). View Article

ICMA publishes briefing note on the political agreement on the EU taxonomy : The Taxonomy Regulation will introduce a complex classification system of sustainable activities based on contributions to environmental objectives and technical criteria, as well as wider social and sustainability factors.  View Article

IAIS launches public consultation on TCFD recommendations : The IAIS published a draft Issues Paper on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures for public consultation. View Article

IASB – Hans Hoogervorst: Accounting standards and the long term : IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst talked about the importance of high-quality accounting standards in supporting long-term investment. View Article

Accountancy Europe: Interconnected standard setting for corporate reporting : In its paper, Accountancy Europe introduces nine criteria and applies them to four approaches to interconnected standard setting for corporate reporting. Accountancy Europe sets out its vision and offers ideas on progress towards a global corporate reporting structure. View Article

BIS - Margarita Delgado: Remarks at panel on climate change : Remarks by Ms Margarita Delgado, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain, at the High Level Panel on the climate-related role of the financial sector during the UN's COP25 summit. View Article

IASB: Help shape IFRS Standards in 2020 : To develop high-quality accounting standards, the IASB seeks views from people interested in and affected by financial reporting. This engagement helps the IASB to generate ideas and evaluate suggested solutions to accounting problems so that IFRS reflect the needs of the companies and of investors. View Article

Protecting Customers

Accountancy Europe: Independent assurance on the European Single Electronic Format : The European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) is a significant step forward for the accessibility and comparability of the financial information of the issuers on EU regulated markets. It is now up to each EU Member State to develop the implementation of ESEF and to maximise the benefits digitalisation can offer. View Article

Fin Tech Regulation

European Commission welcomes political agreement to boost crowdfunding in the EU : The proposal, a key building block of the Capital Markets Union, aims to harness the opportunities presented by emerging technology-enabled innovations in the financial sector (FinTech).  View Article

POLITICO: Libra vows to fight on despite political backlash : Banning the Facebook-led virtual currency would hurt the EU, Libra executive says. Libra has taken a beating from politicians — but it is not down and out. Policymakers are afraid that Libra´s direct route to 2.4 billion Facebook users could come to rival sovereign currencies and undermine the global monetary system. View Article

European Commission: Financial services – EU regulatory framework for crypto-assets : In order to promote digital finance in Europe, while adequately regulating its risks, in light of the mission letter of Executive Vice President Dombrovskis the Commission services are working towards a new Digital Finance Strategy for the EU. View Article

Financial Times: Wall Street banks ramp up research into quantum finance : Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citigroup) have stepped up their research into quantum computing, signalling growing confidence that recent breakthroughs in the field have laid the foundation for the first practical applications of the revolutionary new computing technology. View Article

Economic Policies Impacting EU Finance

Bloomberg: Here’s how the European Union runs a trade surplus with...itself : The European Union has a growing trade surplus with itself, a statistical discrepancy that may indicate value-added tax fraud of more than 60 billion euros a year, according to a study by two leading German research institutes. View Article

POLITICO: Push for global digital tax agreement stalls amid tensions : Several senior officials told POLITICO the stand-off between France and the US may have scuppered chances of reaching a deal on how to tax the digital world. View Article

Financial Times: Eurozone reform deadlock reflects deep malaise over integration : The fiscal stalemate derives in part from the frictions in Franco-German relations, warns Tony Barber. View Article

City AM: Interest rates unlikely to rise in 2020, says ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann : A European Central Bank policymaker has said it is unlikely interest rates will be lifted back into positive territory next year. Robert Holzmann cited Brexit as being likely to cause renewed concern toward the end of 2020. View Article

Basic Enconomic Indicators

December 2019: Economic Sentiment broadly unchanged in both the euro area and the EU : In December 2019, the Economic Sentiment Indicator remained broadly unchanged in the euro area (+0.3 points up to 101.5) and was stable in the EU (at 100.0 points)  View Article

Volume of retail trade up by 1.0% in euro area : In November 2019 compared with October 2019, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 1.0% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.6% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat. View Article

EU27 Politics

 

Pedro Sánchez's new coalition government - El Diario

 

The New York Times: Pedro Sánchez will lead modern Spain’s first coalition government : The Socialist leader won approval from Parliament and will now run a fragile grouping of left-leaning parties whose survival may hinge on the separatist dispute in Catalonia. View Article

Paul Goldschmidt: Quo Vadis Europa ? : The EU finds itself caught in a vice between the legitimate aspirations of its Members and their respective incapacity to make themselves heard on the international scene, as a result of globalization supported by irreversible technological change.  View Article

EurActiv: Austrian conservatives and Greens strike New Year’s coalition deal : Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz has struck a coalition deal with the Greens to ensure his return to power and bring the left-wing party into government for the first time, three months after Kurz won a parliamentary election. View Article

 

Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	NBER @nberpubs
US and international firms most exposed to Brexit uncertainty lost a substantial fraction of their market value and significantly reduced hiring and investment, from Tarek Alexander Hassan, Stephan Hollander, Laurence van Lent, and Ahmed Tahoun nber.org/papers/w26609 pic.twitter.com/nebtHMOns6
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Financial Times @FT
Brussels warns UK over future trade relationship ambitions on.ft.com/2QxsRx6
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	SPIEGEL English @SPIEGEL_English
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: 'The Brexit Drama Is a Bitter Lesson for Populists' dlvr.it/RMb65M pic.twitter.com/Fro1LAKioB
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	POLITICO Europe @POLITICOEurope
The French president says the EU will approach post-Brexit talks "in cold blood" politi.co/2QY7TGC
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	POLITICO Europe @POLITICOEurope
Pedro Sánchez confirmed as Spanish prime minister politi.co/2QXU6jm
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Bloomberg Brexit @Brexit
Boris Johnson is facing pressure from British businesses over the post-Brexit trade deal trib.al/tTHas2Z
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Steve Peers @StevePeers
Epic fail for the CANZUK bros Australian trade minister 'can't imagine' free movement talks with UK a.msn.com/01/en-gb/BBYEC…
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Sky News @SkyNews
Labour is to attempt to delay leaving the EU by two years to prevent a no-deal #Brexit po.st/d1sV0r
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Jennifer Rankin @JenniferMerode
How Brexit looks to @lemondefr - no party has explained what is at stake in dismantling thousands of links with EU. “The British, blindfolded, have given the keys to the kingdom to a man who has not told them what kind of relations he wishes to preserve with the continent.” pic.twitter.com/3lh0NSwT5f
	Graham Bishop #FBPE @GrahamBishopcom
Here's my video invitation to 158th Brussels for Breakfast, in which i suggest - and request - ideas for the next #B4B debate on January 14th 2020. With my best wishes for a happy Xmas! ow.ly/vzIF50xDW1N