This week in "Brussels"
07 June 2018
Bank resolution planning, capital markets, supervisory disclosure, central clearing, Capital Markets Union, securitisation, GDPR, Solvency II, ECB internal models, political turmoil in Italy and Spain, EMU, Donald Trump's trade war and more.
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Articles from 31 May 2018 - 07 June 2018 |
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Banking Union |
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FSB launches thematic peer review on bank resolution planning and invites feedback from stakeholders
The objective of the review is to evaluate implementation by FSB jurisdictions of the resolution planning standard set out in the FSB Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions and in associated guidance in relation to banks. View Article |
Javier Alonso: Banks' traditional funding sources - opportunities for capital markets
The Bank of Spain Deputy Governor highlighted some developments related to banks’ funding sources that he thinks may offer new opportunities for capital markets. He also touched upon Brexit, an event that is generating great uncertainty and for which careful preparation is required. View Article |
Bank of England: Evaluation of the Bank of England’s resolution arrangements - June 2018
The Bank of England’s Independent Evaluation Office has published the report on evaluation of its resolution arrangements with the Bank's findings and recommendations. View Article |
EBA publishes final amended technical standards on supervisory disclosure
These standards specify the format, structure, contents list and annual publication date of the supervisory information to be disclosed by competent authorities. The amended draft ITS incorporate the changes to the EU legal framework and the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). View Article |
ECB: Report on the results of the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area – October 2017 to March 2018
The ECB´s survey report identified that SMEs continued to indicate improvements in availability of external sources of finance; lower, albeit still high, percentage of SMEs reported increasing turnover and profits; and fewer SMEs reported falling interest rates on bank loans. View Article |
NY Times: Fix the Volcker rule, but look for alternatives, too
Advocates of the Volcker Rule say proprietary trading is too risky for banks, so there were some immediate fears that any change to the rule might lead to a dangerous loosening of controls on the financial system. View Article |
Financial Times: Tech upheaval makes bank mega-deals unlikely
The finance industry has been waiting for large cross-border bank mergers since the EU voted for banking union five years ago. Such deals, the market believes, will be conducted with efficiency and transparency, governed by tougher regulations and, in the eurozone, closely supervised by the ECB. View Article |
Bank of England: Bank of England response to HMT Call for Evidence on Cash and Digital Payments in the new economy
Given recent forecasts suggest a continued decline in the transactional use of cash, and as the industry starts to plan beyond the currency modernisation initiatives, this is a timely point at which to consider the future role of cash in the economy and how the industry and the authorities will support it. View Article |
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Capital Markets Union |
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Bank of England's Jon Cunliffe: Central Clearing and Resolution – learning some of the lessons of Lehmans
The BoE's Deputy Governor in Financial Stability addresses the progress that has been made to reform derivatives’ markets, and explains how the concentration of counterparty risk in central counterparties is managed and why we need to have a resolution regime for CCPs. View Article |
Capital Markets Union: Making it easier for insurers to invest in new class of securitised assets
The Commission has adopted new rules to stimulate insurers' investments in simple, transparent and standardised (STS) securitisation. View Article |
ICMA co-signs industry letter to European Commission on supporting securitisation
ICMA has joined several other leading European trade associations in signing a letter to the European Commission expressing support for the recently agreed simple, transparent and standardised (STS) securitisation framework in Europe. View Article |
ESMA 1Q18 Risk Dashboard sees complex products and volatility as key risks
ESMA issued the latest iteration of its Risk Dashboard, covering risks in the EU’s securities markets for 1Q2018. ESMA’s overall risk assessment remains unchanged from 4Q17 at high levels. View Article |
Steven Maijoor Addresses ICMA Annual Conference on benchmark stability and integrity
Steven Maijoor delivered a keynote speech that focused on the development and future of benchmarks regulation in the European Union. View Article |
ESMA adopts final product intervention measures on CFDs and binary options
ESMA formally adopted new measures on the provision of contracts for differences and binary options to retail investors. View Article |
ESMA publishes Q&As in relation the temporary product intervention measures
The purpose of this Q&A is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of ESMA’s temporary product intervention measures in relation to the marketing, distribution or sale of CFDs and Binary options to retail clients. View Article |
Financial Times: Banks and brokers suffer ‘dramatic’ fall in commissions
Investment banks and brokers across Europe have suffered a “dramatic” fall in the fees asset managers pay them to buy and sell shares in a sign of how the recently introduced Mifid II rules have shaken up markets. View Article |
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Clients Union |
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No barriers to free flow of non-personal data in the EU
Removing obstacles to the free movement of non-personal data within the EU for companies and public authorities is the key aim of a draft law approved by the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee. View Article |
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Insurance |
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EIOPA expects insurance undertakings to avoid instruments banned or restricted by ESMA
EIOPA published a statement on consumer detriment resulting from policyholder exposure to contracts for differences (CFDs) and binary options. View Article |
EIOPA publishes monthly technical information for Solvency II Relevant Risk Free Interest Rate Term Structures
EIOPA published technical information on the relevant risk free interest rate term structures with reference to the end of May 2018. View Article |
Monthly update of the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge for Solvency II
EIOPA published the technical information on the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge for Solvency II with reference to the end of May 2018. View Article |
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Asset Management |
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EFAMA: European investment fund net assets recorded small decline in first quarter
EFAMA published its latest Quarterly Statistical Release describing the trends in the European investment fund industry in the first quarter of 2018 with key data and indicators for each EFAMA member countries. View Article |
Financial Times: Big equity funds accused of breaching EU disclosure rules
Up to a third of large equity funds offered to European investors have been accused of breaching EU market rules over providing comparable performance data. View Article |
VoxEU: Population ageing: Pension policies alone will not prevent the decline in the relative size of the labour force
The column argues that, on average in the OECD, stabilising the old-age dependency ratio between 2015 and 2050 requires an increase in retirement age of a stunning 8.4 years. This number far exceeds the projected increase in longevity and increases in retirement age driven by pension reforms alone. View Article |
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Corporate Governance/Accounting |
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EFAMA Stewardship Code
EFAMA has recently published the new EFAMA Stewardship Code, “Principles for asset managers’ monitoring of, voting in, engagement with investee companies”, a revised version of the 2011 Code of External Governance. View Article |
CFRR—IFAC lead education workshop
The Western Balkan professional accountancy organizations (PAOs)—a group of PAOs comprising both IFAC members and non-members—have expressed interest in furthering their regional cooperation in the area of accountancy education and professional development. View Article |
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Anti-Money Laundering |
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Financial Times: Nordic banks in anti-money laundering tie-up
Five of the biggest banks in the Nordics have clubbed together to set up joint anti-money laundering infrastructure after several of the lenders were hit by heavy criticism from regulators over lax controls. View Article |
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Financial Services Policy |
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ECIIA: ECB internal models guide should clarify assurance responsibilities
While ECIIA welcomes the ECB’s draft guide on internal models for financial services organisations, more clarity is needed in some areas over the role of internal audit and other assurance functions. View Article |
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Political |
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Project Syndicate: Italy’s slow-motion Euro train wreck
Financial markets have finally woken up to the fact that Italy could soon be ruled by a populist government with designs to take the country out of the eurozone. View Article |
Financial Times: Hola Brussels
Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s unexpected new prime minister, who took power last week after a parliamentary vote toppled the previous government, has put respected European figures into key positions as he seeks to burnish his credentials on the EU stage. View Article |
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Economic |
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EurActiv: Juncker: ‘Completing the EMU is more important than ever’
With an eye on Italy and Spain and the possible political and financial turmoil there, the European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker called once again for a fast and deep reform of the Economic and Monetary Union. View Article |
EurActiv: Merkel offers Macron concessions on eurozone reforms
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered a long-awaited answer to French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for ambitious European Union reforms, offering olive branches on investment and help for debt-mired eurozone member states. View Article |
POLITICO: EU announces retaliation against Trump tariffs
The EU confirmed that it would retaliate against steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, in what many European officials fear could be the first salvos of a transatlantic trade war. View Article |
EU Budget: A Reform Support Programme and an Investment Stabilisation Function to strengthen Europe's Economic and Monetary Union
For the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the Commission proposes to create a Reform Support Programme and a European Investment Stabilisation Function. View Article |
Accountancy Europe: Providing support in tax controls and assurance
Accountancy Europe publication explores new concepts in tax based around enhanced transparency: tax control frameworks, tax assurance and cooperative compliance. View Article |
ECB: The international role of the euro
The ECB has published the 17th annual review of the international role of the euro. It is an interim version that presents a concise overview of developments in the use of the euro by non-euro area residents. View Article |
Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in euro area
In April 2018 compared with March 2018, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.1% in the euro area (EA19) and increased by 0.4% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat. View Article |
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Graham's tweets |
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© Graham Bishop
Banking Union