10 October 2017

Investment & Pensions Europe: Pensions industry weighs in on ECB data reporting plan

Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) have proposed frameworks for data gathering from pension funds, both of which have been criticised already as posing a significant burden.

Responding to the ECB’s consultation, which closed at the end of September, Germany’s aba called for a 12-month delay to the first required reporting date, from the end of 2018 to at least the end of 2019, “because from our perspective the earlier date is not feasible”.

aba’s response was also on behalf of the German trade bodies for public and church pension funds (AKA) and Versorgungswerke (ABV).

The associations said it was not clear which German entities would have to report to the ECB. The central bank’s requirements would prove an additional burden for IORPs, the German organisations added, as such funds would be subject to “the almost simultaneous introduction of new reporting requirements by EIOPA”.

In total, pension funds would in future have to comply with three “extensive” reporting requirements, the associations added, including “existing, but hopefully reduced” reporting to the German national supervisor.

They raised concerns about the timeframe for reporting liabilities – within 14 weeks – and said this was too short if a binding validation of the data was required within this period.

Mark Dowsey, senior consultant at Willis Towers Watson, told IPE that the ECB’s data collection plans were “a big issue for many pension funds in Europe”.

“I fear this being a very significant resource drain for no demonstrable benefit,” he said. “I understand the ECB’s wanting a broad handle on things at the macro level, but this sort of granular detail seems unnecessary.”

Dowsey questioned what the ECB or regulators would be able to do if they thought the data revealed a problem.

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