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This decision will enter into force for the first quarter of 2016 and will be a binding requirement for the granting and renewal of the Covered Bond Label with a phase-in period of one year in order to allow issuers to align their IT systems and disclosure policies to the new format. Once this decision is fully implemented it will have direct impact on more than 70% of eligible covered bonds, Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) compliant with a transparency template, which represents a worldwide impact, i.e. for circa 60% of the covered bonds outstanding globally.
The ECBC Transparency Task Force is currently finalising the Harmonised Transparency Template in liaison with the different jurisdictions involved in the process. The final Template will be presented during the next ECBC Plenary Meeting, which will be held in Barcelona on the 9th of September 2015.
The Common Harmonised Transparency Template, implemented through the Covered Bond Label platform, will allow investors to compare a harmonised set of data across countries, having a comprehensive view on cover assets, liabilities and legislative frameworks across markets.
The Common Harmonised Transparency Template will not only apply for issuers in the jurisdictions which currently hold Labels (Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), but also for all those issuers who will apply for the Covered Bond Label in 2016. Non-EEA issuers are currently working on the basis of this Common Harmonised Transparency Template and it is expected that the first non-EEA Label applications will be made towards the end of 2015 and the start of 2016.
“Over the last three years the covered bond community has made an immense effort to enhance transparency in the covered bond market, and the implementation of a Common Harmonised Transparency Template is the culmination of these efforts, rooted in stakeholders’ commitment and consensus,” Carsten Tirsbæk Madsen, European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) Chairman commented.
“After years of intense and constructive dialogue between issuers and investors, the Common Harmonised Transparency Template represents a welcome and significant step forward, which will facilitate data comparability and investors’ due diligence, thereby contributing to building the Capital Markets Union,” Andreas Denger, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management GmbH, Chairman of the Covered Bond Investor Council (CBIC) and Member of the Covered Bond Label Advisory Council, said.