Welcome to our Friends Standard weekly e-mail. 

We are now focussed on the big themes for the next legislative period - targeting the interaction of the driving forces of politics and economics as they force the required changes in over-arching financial regulation (including ESG and Fin Tech). Details of these services are here

My video invitation to the 160th Brussels for Breakfast on 11th March 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

General Policy

ECB: Major European financial infrastructures join forces against cyber threats : A group of Europe’s largest and most important financial infrastructures, members of the Euro Cyber Resilience Board for pan-European Financial Infrastructures, launched an initiative to share vital cybersecurity threat information to help protect European citizens’ savings against cybercriminals.  View Article

ECMI: A complex European financial architecture - 10 years on : In this Research Report, ECMI General Manager Karel Lanoo states that, apart from the Single Supervisory Mechanism, member states prefer cooperation rather than integration mode for their financial markets. View Article

Banking Union

EBA notes enhanced consistency on institutions’ Pillar 3 disclosures but calls for improvements to reinforce market discipline : The EBA published its Report assessing institutions’ Pillar 3 disclosures, which aims at identifying best practices and potential areas for improvement. While the EBA observes overall progress in institutions’ prudential disclosures, some practices may still impair the proper communication of their risk profile in a comparable way, compromising the ultimate objective of market discipline. View Article

BIS: Benchmark rate reforms : The BCBS fully supports the global efforts to strengthen the robustness and reliability of existing inter-bank offered rates (IBORs) and promote the development of alternative reference rates.  View Article

BCBS meets to review vulnerabilities and emerging risks, advance supervisory initiatives and promote Basel III implementation : The Committee has consulted with members and stakeholders on its future priorities, its structure and its processes. Members discussed the feedback received and exchanged initial views on the way forward. The Committee aims to finalise its review in the course of the year.  View Article

Capital Markets Union

 

Luis de Guindos - Euronews

 

ECB's De Guindos - Capital markets union: the role of equity markets and sustainable finance : Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, delivered an update on the progress achieved so far on the CMU project, and then turned to the way forward, focusing on two key dimensions in developing deeper capital markets: risk capital markets and sustainable finance. View Article

Pablo Hernández de Cos: Thoughts on global financial stability and the European Capital Markets Union : Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, where he gave an overview of the main risks to global financial stability and discussed recent developments and the way forward regarding the European Capital Markets Union. View Article

ECB pushes for EU capital markets integration and development : According to the new European Central Bank report on “Financial Integration and Structures in the Euro Area”, the financial structure of the euro area continues to be dominated by non-marketable instruments, despite an increase in financial integration in 2019. View Article

Financial Times: City watchdog tells asset managers to stop using Libor-linked products : Asset management groups have been given the sternest warning yet that they must stop using investments and fee-structures linked to Libor — and cannot wait for clients to demand a move away from the tainted interest rate. View Article

AFME publishes recommendations for partial settlement under CSDR : The recommendations aim to encourage greater and more harmonised use of partial settlement across the industry as a way of improving settlement rates. View Article

Financial Market Structure

MiFID II: ESMA makes available the results of the annual transparency calculations for equity and equity-like instruments : ESMA’s annual transparency calculations are based on the data provided to Financial Instruments Transparency System (FITRS) by trading venues and arranged publication arrangements (APAs) in relation to the calendar year 2019. View Article

ISDA, EFAMA, EVIA, FIA and GFXD publish EMIR reporting best practices : The EMIR Reporting Best Practices cover 87 data points across 61 reporting fields, including both over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives, and were developed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of trade reporting and to reduce compliance costs. View Article

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)

 

Ursula von der Leyen - POLITICO

 

European Commission proposes European Climate Law and consults on the European Climate Pact : The European Commission presents a proposal to enshrine in legislation the EU's political commitment to be climate neutral by 2050. The European Climate Law sets the 2050 target and the direction of travel for all EU policy, and gives predictability for public authorities, businesses and citizens. View Article

BIS's Lagarde: Climate change and the financial sector : ECB president Christine Lagarde said that central banks need to devote greater attention to understanding the impact of climate change, including its implications for inflation dynamics.  View Article

Fin Tech Regulation

ESMA Chair Steven Maijoor delivers keynote at 4th Annual Fintech Conference : ESMA's Maijoor focused on the growing scale of financial technology and the firms involved, and what this means for regulation. Maijoor outlined the trends around BigTech in finance and then turned to DLT, and to the possibility of global stablecoins as an area where BigTech and DLT may intersect. View Article

EU27 Politics

The Guardian: Support for Eurosceptic parties doubles in two decades across EU : The paradox at the heart of Europe has been revealed in new research that shows that the vote share for Eurosceptic parties has more than doubled in two decades, even though support for the EU remains at record highs. View Article

Brexit

The Guardian: UK says it will consider walking away from Brexit talks in June : Boris Johnson is asking the EU for a Canada-style trade deal but will consider whether to walk away from talks in June and prepare for an “orderly” exit from the transition period. View Article

BBC: France warns UK against 'artificial deadlines' : The EU will not be pressurised by "artificial deadlines" in its post-Brexit trade talks with the UK, France's Europe minister has warned. View Article

The Guardian: British economy 'to grow 0.16% at best under US trade deal' : The British economy would be at most 0.16% larger by the middle of the next decade under a comprehensive trade deal with the US, the government has admitted, laying bare the limited benefits from striking an agreement with Donald Trump. View Article

British Brexit negotiator David Frost and ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow - FT

Financial Times: UK seeks EU assurance on deadline for financial market access : Britain has urged Brussels to honour a June deadline for granting market access rights that the City of London will rely on when the UK’s post-Brexit transition period runs out at the end of the year. View Article

Financial Times: Citi consolidates European leadership in Frankfurt : Citigroup is further consolidating its European investment bank and trading leadership in Frankfurt as the post-Brexit financial services divergence between the UK and EU becomes clearer. View Article

City AM/EY: The cost of the UK’s 2021 Immigration system to Financial Services : Recent research by IPPR suggests that 38% of EU workers currently employed in UK Financial Services firms would not be considered eligible under the UK’s new immigration system. The analysis also found that the rules disproportionately impact the immigration of EU women. View Article

 

Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
FT Brussels" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931157406360449024/uendSDG1_normal.jpg" />	FT Brussels @ftbrussels
UK seeks EU assurance on deadline for financial market access on.ft.com/2Ia7EEn
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	YouGov @YouGov
With the UK beginning trade negotiations with both the EU and the US this month, here is who Brits would prefer to have as the closer trading partner between the two: ????: 51% ????: 17% yougov.co.uk/topics/travel/… pic.twitter.com/V0Z2WTsp20
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	European Central Bank @ecb
ECB Supervisory Board member Kerstin af Jochnick says banks that have been quicker to adjust to the Basel standards are in a better position to support their customers. That’s why banks need to implement Basel III faithfully, consistently and in good time bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/speeches… pic.twitter.com/ohUo1yOgD6
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	European Central Bank @ecb
ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos says completing the capital markets union requires improvements in two key areas: the dynamism of private equity investments, particularly in risk capital markets, as well as sustainable finance. Read more: ecb.europa.eu/press/inter/da…
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Bloomberg @business
Global economic growth will sink to levels not seen in over a decade as the coronavirus outbreak hammers demand and supply, according to the OECD trib.al/tf8aDcc pic.twitter.com/muCG2Bmo9F
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
FT Brussels" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931157406360449024/uendSDG1_normal.jpg" />	FT Brussels @ftbrussels
Top City bosses reject post-Brexit ‘Singapore on Thames’ on.ft.com/3cdEYbm
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Bloomberg Brexit @Brexit
Boris Johnson's office says only full independence from EU rules will do—and the U.K. is willing to walk away from talks if necessary trib.al/t4q7BF2
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	UNCTAD @UNCTAD
#Brexit: New UNCTAD estimates show that the UK ???? risks losing up to 14% ($32 billion) of its exports to the EU ????. bit.ly/BrexitNTMs pic.twitter.com/krDpuwXPli
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Bloomberg Brexit @Brexit
“The trade deal will be associated with a fisheries agreement and a level playing field, otherwise there won’t be any agreement at all" trib.al/nkR4lTC
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
	Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen
? Mandate approved. Ready to go. Negotiations with the #UK will begin the week of 2nd March. We stand ready to build a close, ambitious partnership with the UK. This is good for people, good for business. #NewBeginnings ????????