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18 November 2010

This week in "Brussels"
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Financial Services Policy Securities Insurance
Asset Management Corporate Governance/Accounting Brief Opinions/Commentaries
Financial Stability - Policy Analysis Best of Media About this email

Articles from 11 November 2010 - 18 November 2010

Financial Services Policy

Council adopted legal texts establishing the European Systemic Risk Board and three new supervisory authorities
The Council adopted legal texts underpinning a reform of the EU framework for supervision of the financial system, aimed at eliminating deficiencies that were exposed during the financial crisis.   View Article
Financial supervisory architecture facing possible budget constraints after the EP rejected EU budget for 2011
All newly-decided policies will encounter budgetary problems, since there was no (or little) money for them in the 2010 budget. This concerns for example the new Financial Supervisory Bodies, the External Action Service and the nuclear fusion research project (ITER).   View Article
ECOFIN Council conclusions: follow-up to the G20 summit
European finance ministers ended their two days of meetings in Brussels by repeatedly insisting that Ireland has yet to ask for an aid package from them.  View Article
The Eurogroup welcomed the significant budgetary efforts of Ireland
The Eurogroup welcomes in particular the announcement by the Irish authorities that their four-year budgetary strategy will be frontloaded by €6 billion in 2011 on a total consolidation effort of €15 billion.  View Article
The G20 Seoul summit: Transformation of financial system to address the root causes of the crisis is essential
G20 leaders approved a plan to have regulators draw up a list of about 20 global banks by the end of 2011 that will have to hold more capital and prove that their failure would not damage the financial system.   View Article
FSA and SEC hold strategic dialogue meeting
During the meeting, the agencies shared views regarding the oversight of over-the-counter derivatives trading, high-frequency trading, recent regulatory initiatives regarding credit rating agencies and cross-border enforcement information-sharing between the FSA and SEC.  View Article
AFME comments on G20 decisions on financial regulation
The AFME welcomes the phased implementation. However, a schedule of periodic reviews to ensure that implementation is consistent across all jurisdictions is needed, as well as publication of the impact reviews.   View Article
FT: EU standardisation on retail investment products will hide complexities
The Financial Times reports that European regulators face a considerable challenge on how to succeed in creating a simple, standardised and brief form of explanation for all the important risks in all the major types of investment products.   View Article
European banks cautiously welcome Seoul outcome
The EBF regrets the fact that there is no mention of a comprehensive impact assessment of all financial sector regulatory reform measures proposed.   View Article
FSB report on progress since the Washington summit in the implementation of the G20 recommendations
The FSB and its members have advanced a major programme of financial reforms to build a more resilient and less procyclical financial system that better serves the needs of our economies.   View Article
FSB published report on reducing the moral hazard posed by systemically important financial institutions
The G20 Leaders at the Seoul summit endorsed the FSB policy framework for reducing the moral hazard of systemically important financial institutions, including the work processes and timelines set out in the report.   View Article

Securities

Financial News: Commission delays MiFID II consultation
The consultation document outlining the European Commission’s review of MiFID, which the financial industry had expected to be published today, has been further delayed because of the EC’s heavy workload.  View Article
AFME Global FX Division to launch trade repository selection
The move comes in response to Dodd-Frank requirements in the US, which call for swap trades to be reported to a swap data repository, as well as equivalent requirements in prospective European legislation on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories.  View Article
CFTC to hold open meeting on fifth series of proposed rules under the Dodd-Frank Act
The meeting will cover swap data repositories, real-time public reporting, protection of collateral and data recordkeeping.  View Article
SEC and CESR restate continued close cooperation as national securities regulators implement new regulatory reform initiatives
The SEC and CESR convened a high-level meeting to discuss regulatory reform efforts in the United States and the European Union. The discussions focused on regulation of over-the-counter derivatives, oversight of credit rating agencies and managers of hedge and private equity funds.  View Article

Insurance

Upcoming challenges and opportunities for the insurance and reinsurance sector
The crisis has exposed flaws in the supervisory system and the Commission will further regulate the financial sector. Among the proposals under consideration is the idea of applying more stringent supervision on systemic relevant institutions, which will also affect the insurance industry.  View Article
CEA calls for level regulatory playing field for pension providers
In its response to the EC Green Paper on pensions, the CEA calls for the principle of “same risks, same rules” to be applied to the regulation covering life insurers, institutions for occupational retirement provision and mutual funds offering guaranteed benefits.  View Article
CEIOPS consults on Variable Annuities
The draft report illustrates issues related to VAs, the relevant frameworks applicable in Solvency I and Solvency II as well as the Task Force’s assessment of how those frameworks could fit VAs.  View Article
CEIOPS response to the EC Green Paper - “Towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems”
CEIOPS notes and welcomes that the Green Paper does not question the prerogatives of Member States in pensions and that it does not propose a one-size-fits-all pension system design.  View Article
CEIOPS published its report on management oversight and internal control rules applicable to IORPs
The report reveals a wide spectrum of rules, requirements and supervisory practices which mainly reflect the different stages of development due to the varying importance attached to second pillar pensions and the legal frameworks under which IORPs operate.  View Article
CEIOPS published methodology for equivalence assessments under Solvency II
This methodology has been developed for use in respect of assessments undertaken by CEIOPS, and in the future by EIOPA.   View Article

Asset Management

Commission statement on the European Parliament vote on AIFMD
The final step is now formal approval by the Council which should happen in the next few weeks. The Directive should come into force in early 2011 and should be transposed into national law and applied by Member States by 2013.   View Article
IMA says single pensions market would benefit savers
IMA’s Head of Research said that “care must be taken to ensure that regulatory requirements do not damage existing provision. While it is understandable that the Commission seeks robust protection mechanisms for savers, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.“  View Article
ACCA: Pensions reform in the EU - striking the right balance for the overall financial well-being of 21st century society
Employers should be encouraged to offer collective schemes. ACCA’s preferred option is however not obligatory introduction of measures guaranteeing benefits in full on employer insolvency, since they would impose potentially enormous liabilities on states.  View Article

Corporate Governance/Accounting

ACCA about the 18th World Congress of Accountants 2010
The four-day congress saw 183 high-profile speakers from more than 40 countries discussing the topic "Accountants: Sustaining Value Creation" in Kuala Lumpur.  View Article
ACCA and CICPA signed a memorandum of understanding
ACCA and the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) signed a memorandum of understanding during the World Congress of Accountants in Malaysia.   View Article
IFAC: summary of the World Congress of Accountants 2010
Chief executive officers of accounting institutes from around the world shared their visions on the accountants of the future at the World Congress of Accountants 2010.  View Article
Summary of EFRAG meetings held in October - November 2010
The November 2010 edition of the EFRAG update, summarising the discussions held at the recent EFRAG TEG meetings.  View Article
EFRAG decided to extend comment period on Financial Statement Presentation
EFRAG has extended the comment period on its paper on the IASB's staff draft of the ED Financial Statement Presentation until 30 April 2011.  View Article
IASB and EFRAG joint meeting about work plan
The meeting focused on the main projects that IASB intends to finalise in 2011. EFRAG recommendations on Revenue Recognition, Leases, Financial Instruments, Consolidation and Insurance Contracts were discussed, with a particular focus on the need to deliver high quality standards on a timely basis.   View Article
Summary of EFRAG/IASB joint meeting held on 12 November 2010
EFRAG published the Summary of the main messages expressed by the EFRAG delegation. The meeting was the opportunity to follow up on the previous joint meeting held on 26 August 2010 with a constructive dialogue between EFRAG and the IASB.  View Article
ASB published Improvements to Financial Reporting Standards 2010
The ASB issued this FRS in order to maintain the existing levels of convergence between UK and IFRS, which will assist groups in preparing consistent financial statements where their consolidated and subsidiary financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS and FRS respectively.   View Article

Brief Opinions/Commentaries

Nicolas Véron: After the G20 - time for realism in global financial regulation
The Seoul summit of the G20 last week was a milestone for the global financial regulatory discussion. Nicolas Véron argues that the next steps will have to focus on a more limited agenda, which does not mean that success will be easy to achieve.   View Article
Paul Goldschmidt: 'A European Mechanism for Sovereign Debt Crisis Resolution'
Goldschmidt supports the Bruegel Institute’s conclusion that there would be significant benefits in the definition of a global response to the sovereign crisis-resolution issue, and he hopes that Europe’s decision to create a regional mechanism will help advance the global discussion.  View Article
Wolfgang Münchau: "Fiscal union is crucial to the euro’s survival"
Wolfgang Münchau argued that the inconsistency of "No Default, No Exit and No Bailout" has finally been resolved. But by making bailout possible in principle, the EU has created a new inconsistency set: "Possibility of Default, Persistent Imbalances and Lack of a Fiscal Union".   View Article

Financial Stability - Policy Analysis

ECON Chairwoman, Sharon Bowles: Regulation and supervision – reforms and results
Sharon Bowles stressed that the EU's first crisis response was CRD2 and CRD3. Aspects like the large exposure régime and trading book were unfinished business that in her opinion had gone a long way towards reducing the effect of the crisis.  View Article
Eurofi Financial Forum published its conference report
The forum covered the following main topics: improvements proposed to the prudential requirements, supervision and crisis management mechanisms of financial institutions to avoid future crises and priorities of the EU legislative agenda in the global context.  View Article
ECB Vítor Constâncio: Catching-up strategies after the crisis
He says the crisis has revealed that the catching-up process in central, eastern and south-eastern European countries must go hand-in-hand with prudent macro and financial sector policies.  View Article

Best of Media

El País: The Bank of Spain calls for an urgent restructuring of the Spanish Saving Banks
Financial markets want to see the reform of Spanish savings banks finalised. The reality is that from January 2009 until September 2010 only 5.15% of Spanish savings banks have closed their offices and there are still more than 9,188 branches operating on an inefficient basis.  View Article
Il Sole: The ghost of restructuring weighs on Ireland’s, Spain’s and Portugal’s debt, while Italy pays for the political crisis
The governor of Irish central bank, Patrick Honohan, declared that the IMF "is always ready", thus admitting the possible IMF intervention.  View Article




© Graham Bishop

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