This week in "Brussels"
02 November 2017
Supervision of significant branches, Pillar 2 framework, bank capital allocation, CRD IV, PSD2, MiFID II, Solvency II and more.
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Articles from 26 October 2017 - 02 November 2017 |
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Banking Union |
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EBA publishes final guidance on supervision of significant branches
These Guidelines are designed to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the Competent Authorities involved in the prudential supervision of significant branches of EU institutions established in another Member State. View Article |
EBA launches consultations to strengthen the Pillar 2 framework
The EBA launched a public consultation to review three guidelines aimed at further enhancing institutions' risk management and supervisory convergence in the SREP. The revisions focus on stress testing, particularly its use in setting Pillar 2 capital guidance (P2G), as well as interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB). View Article |
BIS: Bank capital allocation under multiple constraints
Authors study how different constraints on banks' activities affect the allocation of capital across business units. In particular, they look at the interplay of risk-based and leverage-based constraints on banks' lending and market-making. View Article |
EBA provides overview of Competent Authorities implementation and transposition of the CRD IV package
The European Banking Authority updated all the information disclosed by EU Competent Authorities according to its Implementing Technical Standards on supervisory disclosure, which were published in the EU Official Journal on 4 June 2014. View Article |
Bruegel: The time is right for a European Monetary Fund
The third of the banking union’s pillars, common European deposit insurance, is still missing. The authors propose to design the EMF as part of a broader risk-sharing and market-discipline agenda. View Article |
New Europe: EU reaches agreement to fast-track Banking reform
After almost a year since the EU executive proposed the 2016 EU Banking Reform package in November 2016, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed to fast-track a number of elements. View Article |
EBA recommends proportionate approach in coverage of entities in banking group recovery plans
This Recommendation, addressed to both Competent Authorities and institutions, aims at defining common criteria to identify entities that need to be covered in group recovery plans, as well as the extent of such coverage. View Article |
EBA announces final timeline for the 2018 EU-wide stress test
The Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority agreed on the final timeline of the 2018 EU-wide stress test. View Article |
EBA consults on requirements for home-host cooperation under PSD2
The EBA launched a public consultation on draft RTS specifying the framework for cooperation and the exchange of information between competent authorities under the revised PSD2. The RTS also clarify the type of information as well as the templates to be used by payment institutions when reporting to the competent authorities. View Article |
ESBG to European Commission: Don’t expand EU cross-border payments rule to non-euro transactions
There is no need to expand the cross-border payments rule –Regulation 924/2009 – to non-euro transactions, ESBG argues in its response to the Commission consultation document on transparency and fees in EU - cross-border transactions. View Article |
ECB: Impact of digital innovation on the processing of electronic payments and contracting: an overview of legal risks
This paper assesses the merits and risks of digital innovation, with an emphasis on its application to retail payments, and seeks to contribute to an understanding of how technological advances are likely to affect both payment transactions and the legal relationships between the parties to them. View Article |
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Capital Markets Union |
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European Commission: Guidance on the implementation of the Directive on markets in financial instruments.
The Commission has issued guidance in the form of frequently asked questions to clarify how EU investment firms subject to MiFID II should interact when they seek out brokerage and research services from broker-dealers in non-EU countries. View Article |
SEC announces measures to facilitate cross-border implementation of the European Union's MiFID II's research provisions
Following consultation with European authorities, and in response to concerns that investors could lose access to valuable research, the staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued three related no-action letters. View Article |
AFME welcomes SEC and EC announcements on MiFID II inducements and research
Simon Lewis, Chief Executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, commented the communication by the European Commission and the SEC announcing measures to facilitate cross-border implementation of the European Union's MiFID II's research provisions. View Article |
FCA statement on MiFID II inducements and research
Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer at the FCA, said that the outcome represents a flexible solution that respects the integrity of the regulatory regimes. View Article |
Investment Association welcomes measures to facilitate cross-border implementation of the MiFID II research provisions
IA's Chris Cummings, said that the association had been at the forefront of industry engagement to resolve the issue of cross border research costs, ensuring that a regulatory solution has been found ahead of the 3 January 2018 deadline. View Article |
European Parliament: Shielding investors and the EU economy against bad loan packages
Packaged loans converted into securities will have to be made less complex and more transparent before selling them on to investors, said MEPs. View Article |
PCS: STS – the end of a long march, maybe the start of a new dawn
Overall, PCS believes that – whilst no more perfect than any other complex legislative outcome – the new regime is workable, if somewhat complex, and provides the basis for a revival of a safe and robust securitisation market in Europe. View Article |
ESMA updates its Q&A under the Alternative Performance Measures guidelines
ESMA published six new questions in its Questions and Answers document on the implementation of its Guidelines on the Alternative Performance Measures for listed issuers. View Article |
ECMI - Creating Long-Term Value in Europe's Capital Markets: Opportunities and constraints
Many factors – changing economic/financial conditions, evolving demographics and regulatory as well as technological developments – will impact asset allocation in the coming years. View Article |
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Clients Union |
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UK Government responds to Brexit: the EU data protection package report
The Government has responded to the report of the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee on Brexit: the EU data protection package. View Article |
Hedgeweek: Thirty seven per cent of organisations around the world still unsure whether they even need to comply with GDPR, says recent stud
A recent study by Watchguard Technologies of 1,600 organisations also found that only 10% believed they were 100% prepared for the regulations to pass into law. That’s 90% who do not feel prepared, or are unsure if the regulations even apply to them. View Article |
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Insurance |
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Interview with Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA
Interview with Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, regarding the planned review of Solvency II, his response to criticism regarding stress testing, a pan-European pension product and EIOPA's approach to Insurtech. View Article |
EIOPA recommends simplifications to the calculation of capital requirements
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) submitted its first set of Advice to the European Commission on the review of specific items in the Solvency II Delegated Regulation. The Advice proposes simplified calculations of the capital requirements in the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) standard formula. View Article |
Financial Times: German regulator seeks Brexit plans from UK-based insurers
BaFin, the German financial regulator, has written to UK-based insurers to demand details of how they plan to deal with a hard Brexit. The letter asks for information about “what emergency plans you have developed to take into account all conceivable exit scenarios”, although it places particular emphasis on a hard Brexit. View Article |
UK Lord's Treasury Committee publishes Report on EU insurance regulation
In response to the practical difficulties of the Directive, the Report recommends that the PRA should have a pragmatic discussion with the insurance industry. This should focus on the scope for amendments and increased proportionality in the implementation of the Directive. View Article |
EIOPA’s Risk Dashboard – second quarter 2017 – continues to show a relative stable risk exposure of the European Union insurance sector
The EIOPA published its updated Risk Dashboard based on the second quarter 2017 data. The results show that the risk exposure of the insurance sector in the European Union remains overall stable with some slight improvements in the solvency ratios of groups and life solo undertakings. View Article |
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Asset Management |
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PensionsEurope questions legal basis for EIOPA info requests
The legal basis for EIOPA’s proposed framework for information requests from national authorities is questionable, according to PensionsEurope. View Article |
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Corporate Governance/Accounting |
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ESMA: New IFRS standards in 2017 annual financial reports
ESMA published the priorities to be considered by listed companies, and their auditors, when preparing and auditing their 2017 financial statements. View Article |
ECA: EU Auditors examine effectiveness of EFSI
The ECA is conducting an audit of EFSI, the investment fund at the heart of the “Juncker Plan”. The auditors will consider whether EFSI (the European Fund for Strategic Investments) is effectively addressing the need to support investment within the EU. View Article |
The FRC consults on annual review of FRS 101
The FRC issued FRED 69 FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework – 2017/18 cycle which proposes no amendments to FRS 101 as a result of its annual review and that detailed consideration of IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts will be deferred until a clearer picture of the progress of its endorsement is known. View Article |
ACCA: Governments and accountancy profession must work together to progress the adoption of IPSAS
A new report from ACCA has called for governments, public sector entities and the accounting profession to work together to assist in the implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) around the world. View Article |
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Political |
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Financial Times: Spain’s crisis is the next challenge for the EU
Gideon Rachman argues that Catalonia’s bid for independence demonstrates that traditional questions of nationhood and sovereignty can still stir the blood in modern Europe. View Article |
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Economic |
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ECB: Dissecting long-term Bund yields in the run-up to the ECB’s public sector purchase programme
This paper intends to help understand via what channels the inception of the PSPP has led to the observed bond yield compression. Under the so-called signalling channel, bond purchases would underline the central bank’s commitment to keeping its key interest rates at low levels for an extended period of time. View Article |
European Commission: Coping with the international financial crisis at the national level in a European context
This technical report outlines the policy actions taken by EU countries in the financial sector between 2008 and 2015 in response to the global financial crisis. View Article |
GDP up by 0.6% in both the euro area and the EU28
Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area (EA19) and in the EU28 during the third quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter, according to a preliminary flash estimate published by Eurostat. View Article |
September 2017: Euro area unemployment at 8.9%
The euro area (EA19) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.9% in September 2017, down from 9.0% in August 2017 and from 9.9% in September 2016. This is the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since January 2009. View Article |
October 2017: Economic Sentiment rises further in both the euro area and the EU
In October, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increased further, continuing the upward trend observable since autumn last year. The indicator increased by 0.9 points in the euro area (to 114.0), and by 1.1 points in the EU (to 114.2) 1. View Article |
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Graham's tweets |
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© Graham Bishop
Banking Union