This week in "Brussels"

08 February 2018



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Articles from 01 February 2018 - 08 February 2018

Banking Union

Bank of England: Strengthening accountability in banking and insurance: optimisations to the SIMR, and changes to SMR forms
This Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) Policy Statement (PS) provides feedback to responses to Chapters 2 and 3 of Consultation Paper (CP) 8/17 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in banking and insurance: optimisations to the SIMR and changes to forms’.   View Article
BIS's Carstens: Authorities should be prepared to act on cryptocurrencies
Authorities must be prepared to act against the invasive spread of cryptocurrencies to protect consumers and investors, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) General Manager Agustín Carstens said.  View Article
EU Business: Sustainable Finance: Banks urge clarity in EU Action Plan
The EBF called on the Commission to prepare a clear EU Action Plan that will enable the banking sector to actively promote sustainable development and contribute to the fight against climate change without harming financial stability.  View Article
EBF Response to FSB consultation on Funding Strategy Elements of an Implementable Resolution Plan
EBF in its reaction to the FSB consultation supports the approach provided by the Financial Stability Board which aims at operationalising funding within the resolution planning.  View Article
EBF: 2018 EU-wide stress tests: Banks again fully committed
Taking note of the announcement on the launch of the 2018 EU-wide bank sector stress tests by the European Banking Authority, the European Banking Federation, as voice of the banking sector, wishes to underline its full commitment to this process, designed to maintain and reinforce the resilience of the banking sector.  View Article

Capital Markets Union

ISDA, AFME, ICMA, SIFMA and SIFMA AMG Launch Benchmark Transition Roadmap
ISDA, AFME, ICMA and SIFMA launched a roadmap that highlights key challenges involved in transitioning financial market contracts and practices from IBORs, to alternative risk-free rates.  View Article
ESMA publishes the responses to its Consultation on position calculation under EMIR
ESMA has published the responses received to its Consultation on position calculation under EMIR.  View Article
ESMA updates Q&A on EMIR implementation
ESMA issued an update of its Q&A on practical questions regarding the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation.   View Article
ESMA publishes the responses to its Consultation on proposed amendment to MiFID II RTS 1
ESMA published the responses received to its Consultation on proposed amendment to MiFID II RTS 1.  View Article
ESMA updates its MiFID II Q&As on transparency and market structures
ESMA updated its Questions and Answers regarding transparency issues under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation.  View Article
ESMA updates its CSDR Q&As
ESMA published an update of its Questions and Answers regarding the implementation of the Central Securities Depository Regulation.  View Article
ESMA issues conflict of interest guidelines for CCPs
ESMA issued its final guidelines on the management of conflict of interests for central counterparties.  View Article
Report on the proposal for a regulation of the Parliament and of the Council on a framework for the recovery and resolution of CCPs
The European Parliament report states that recovery plans should ensure that the sequencing of the use of recovery tools properly balances the allocation of losses between CCPs, clearing members and their clients.  View Article
ESMA publishes 2018 Supervisory Convergence Work Programme
ESMA published its 2018 Supervisory Convergence Work Programme, which details the activities and tasks it will carry out to promote sound, efficient and consistent supervision across the European Union.   View Article

Clients Union

Bank of England: Statements of Commitment to Market Codes
The Bank of England has issued Statements of Commitment to the FX Global Code, the UK Money Markets Code and Global Precious Metals Code.  View Article
ICAS: How to prepare for GDPR
With just under three months remaining until the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into effect in the UK on 25 May 2018, David Menzies CA, Director of Practice, ICAS, looks at how firms can be preparing for GDPR and how ICAS will provide support in this area.  View Article

Insurance

EIOPA publishes the first paper of a series on systemic risk and macroprudential policy in the insurance sector
The EIOPA published the first in a series of papers with the aim of contributing to the debate on systemic risk and macroprudential policy. Through this series of papers, EIOPA will ensure that any further extension of the debate to the insurance sector fully reflects the industry's specific nature.  View Article
EIOPA consults on draft RTS adapting the base euro amounts for PII and financial capacity of intermediaries under the IDD
The EIOPA has published a consultation paper on draft Regulatory Technical Standards adapting the base euro amounts for professional indemnity insurance (PII) and for financial capacity of intermediaries under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD).   View Article
Bank of England: Insurance Distribution Directive: change to commencement date
After the publication of the final rules in Policy Statement (PS) 31/17, the European Commission announced a proposal to postpone the application date of the Insurance Distribution Directive.   View Article
Insurance Europe: Response to IAIS consultation on revisions to ICP 15 and 16 published
Insurance Europe has responded to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) consultation on revisions to Insurance Core Principles (ICP) 15 (Investment) and 16 (Enterprise Risk Management for Solvency Purposes).  View Article
ALFI commented on Solvency II delegated regulation
ALFI provided high level comments on the second set of advice on specific items in the Solvency II Delegated Regulation, focusing in particular on the Risk Margin and its impact on the insurance world and thereby the impact on the asset management world.  View Article
Bank of England: Strengthening individual accountability in insurance
The statement seeks to advance the PRA’s safety and soundness, along with the insurance, statutory objectives by setting out the PRA’s expectations of how firms should comply with the regulatory framework of the Senior Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR).   View Article

Asset Management

Financial Times: US raises pressure over EU plan for changes to fund rules
US regulators and lobby groups are stepping up their resistance to moves by Brussels that could restrict non-EU fund managers from accessing the single market.  View Article
The AMF has published a study on the fees charged by UCITS distributed in France
AMF reviewed the key information documents for just over 8,000 funds and on that basis, offers an overview of funds distributed in France, explanatory factors for variations observed in the fees, an analysis of funds that charge the highest fees and an assessment of performance fees.  View Article
Investment & Pensions Europe: Emerging cross-border trends ‘break with traditional IORP image’
There has been an increase in the number of multi-employer pension funds, and multi-country cross-border pension funds have been expanding, according to EIOPA.   View Article
IASB: Narrow-scope amendments to pension accounting
The IASB issued narrow-scope amendments to pension accounting. Plan Amendment, Curtailment or Settlement (Amendments to IAS 19) specifies how companies determine pension expenses when changes to a defined benefit pension plan occur.  View Article
FCA seeks feedback on non-workplace pensions
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a Discussion Paper to gather views on the market for non-workplace pensions. The FCA estimates that non-workplace pensions, also known as individual private pensions, collectively represent around £400bn assets under management.   View Article

Corporate Governance/Accounting

IFAC: IPSASB proposes new lease accounting model for the public sector
The IPSASB released for comment Exposure Draft (ED) 64, Leases. ED 64 proposes a single right-of-use model for lease accounting that will replace the risks and rewards incidental to ownership model in IPSAS 13, Leases.   View Article
Accountancy Europe response to IOSCO’s Monitoring Group consultation
Accountancy Europe responded to the IOSCO’s Monitoring Group consultation on strengthening the governance and oversight of the international audit-related standard-setting boards in the public interest.  View Article
Financial Times: Index tracking ETFs deny any ‘abdication’ of stewardship role
The rise of exchange traded funds has changed the nature of ownership between listed companies and their investors. Managers of “physical” ETFs are compelled to own shares because of the stock’s inclusion in a particular basket, they cannot readily divest in protest over a company’s behaviour.  View Article

Market Abuse

ESMA provides standards on supervisory cooperation for market abuse investigations
ESMA issued its final Implementing Technical Standards regarding the application of Market Abuse Regulation.  View Article

Financial Services Policy

European Commission launches the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum
The Commission launched the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum with the support of the European Parliament, represented by Jakob von Weizsäcker responsible for the recent report on virtual currencies.  View Article
Insurance Europe: Response to the Commission consultation on institutional investors and asset managers’ duties regarding sustainability
Insurance Europe said that, while insurers have already begun to consider and incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into their business models and investment strategies, there are several challenges and barriers to the identification, measurement and assessment of sustainability/ESG factors.  View Article

Grahams Articles, Comments & Speeches

European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) on Sovereign Bond Backed Securities (SBBS)
Graham Bishop analysed the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) reports on Sovereign Bond Backed Securities (SBBS)and says that it's a great idea - but has many problems. His Temporary Eurobill Fund proposal has much wider application, he argues.  View Article

Temporary Eurobill Fund (TEF)

European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) on Sovereign Bond Backed Securities (SBBS)
Graham Bishop analises the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) reports on Sovereign Bond Backed Securities (SBBS)and says that it's a great idea - but has many problems. His Temporary Eurobill Fund proposal has much wider application, he argues.  View Article

Political

POLITICO: Parliament votes down plan for pan-European MEPs
After months of intense negotiations and internal divisions, the European Parliament rejected by a large majority the creation of a new class of MEP representing a whole-EU constituency.  View Article

Financial

Composition of the working group on euro risk-free rates announced
The European Central Bank , together with ESMA, the European Commission and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), announced the composition of the working group on euro risk-free rates.  View Article

Economic

ECB's President Mario Draghi remarks at the European Parliament plenary debate on the ECB Annual Report for 2016
Draghi focused on the economic developments in the euro area and the role of the ECB’s monetary policy; and the state of the European financial sector. He also urged banks and regulators to prepare for the possibility that the UK and the EU were unable to agree on a transition deal post-Brexit.  View Article
ECB's Cœuré: The euro area’s three lines of defence
Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the conference “Deepening of EMU”, in which he outlined the requirements than any euro area reform will have to pass: the three “lines of defence” that any well-functioning monetary union depends on.  View Article
EU-Norway agreement signed, strengthening the prevention of VAT fraud
The agreement will provide EU member states and Norway with a legal framework for administrative cooperation in preventing VAT fraud and assisting each other in the recovery of VAT claims.  View Article
Volume of retail trade down by 1.1% in euro area
In December 2017 compared with November 2017, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 1.1% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.0% in the EU28.  View Article


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