The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published guidance for banks on continuing to make branch access available for essential services. In considering reopening and operating branches, banks should balance the needs of their customers against the safety and welfare of their staff. Maintaining access to essential services for vulnerable customers, such as access to cash, telephone banking and in-person payments, should be a particular priority. Firms should also prioritize the reinstatement of access to cash and essential services in local areas which have lost access to bank branches as a result of the pandemic, and, where this is not possible, should ensure they communicate clearly with customers through websites and physical signs at branches to point them to alternatives, including Post Office services.
 
View the FCA's guidance on branch access during COVID-19.
 
Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a “Dear CEO” letter providing further guidance on IFRS 9 and capital requirements in the context of COVID-19. The PRA published a “Dear CEO” letter in March 2020, advising firms on the application of certain key concepts (including the definition of "default" in the Capital Requirements Regulation and expected credit loss accounting under IFRS 9). This guidance related in large part to payment holidays, many of which are now coming to an end. The PRA’s latest guidance therefore focuses on exits from those initial payment deferrals. 

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The Bank of England has written to CEOs of U.K. financial market infrastructure providers, urging them to carefully consider the additional risks and potential financial and operational demands of COVID-19 when determining shareholder distributions or variable remuneration. U.K. FMI providers are expected to discuss any intended shareholder distributions with the Bank of England.
 
View the BoE's Dear CEO letter to FMIs.
 
Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s Executive Director of Supervision for Investment, Wholesale and Specialists, Megan Butler, has given a speech setting out the FCA’s current priorities, its expectations of firms during the COVID-19 pandemic and the outcomes it is focusing on for the wealth management sector, as well as the future priorities for financial regulation.
 
The FCA initially prioritized immediate relief for firms and consumers, including on mortgages and unsecured lending products, at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, but is now looking at how it will respond to the challenges of COVID-19 on a more long-term basis. This longer-term approach includes ensuring a good level of operational resilience (in line with the FCA’s ongoing consultation on that topic), that markets can continue to function well, that customers are treated fairly and protected from scams and that the FCA understands firms’ financial resilience so that they can fail in an orderly manner. 

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a Decision renewing the temporary lower threshold for disclosures of net short positions in shares. ESMA's original Decision has been in effect since March 16, 2020 and was due to expire on June 16, 2020. The Decision to renew the measures will apply from June 17, 2020 for a further three months. The lower thresholds apply to all holders of net short positions in shares traded on an EU regulated market (i.e., exchange) who must notify the relevant national regulator if the position reaches or exceeds 0.1% of the issued share capital and of each 0.1% above that threshold.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a statement on the use of electronic signatures in the context of remote working arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRA has stated that, in the absence of specific legal provisions to the contrary, firms are entitled to use electronic signatures to submit forms and other regulatory documents to the PRA. The advice does not extend to the use of electronic signatures more generally.

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The European Banking Authority has published guidelines on bank reporting and disclosure of exposures subject to measures designed to protect borrowers from the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The measures include payment moratoria, which are exempt from prudential treatment as forbearance measures and therefore not subject to the usual supervisory reporting framework. Public guarantee schemes introduced in many Member States are also not captured by existing reporting frameworks. This has created a data gap, which has implications for the risk-analysis of individual institutions and for overall financial stability in the EU.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published final guidance on how mortgage lenders should treat customers coming to the end of a payment holiday, or those yet to request one, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance will come into force on June 4, 2020 and remain in force until October 31, 2020, unless renewed or updated. The guidance covers: (i) fair treatment of customers seeking, or coming to the end of, a payment deferral; (ii) options for customers able, or unable, to resume full payments; (iii) the interaction of the guidance with the FCA’s Mortgage Conduct of Business Sourcebook; (iv) training, monitoring, record keeping and Credit Reference Agency reporting; (v) repossessions; and (vi) debt help and money guidance.

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Following the introduction of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill into Parliament on May 20, 2020, the U.K. government has published a series of guidance notes on the measures proposed in the Bill. The proposed measures, first announced by Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on March 28, 2020, are intended to protect companies and businesses facing major funding and operational difficulties in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Once final, the Bill will amend current U.K. insolvency law by, among other things, introducing a new moratorium, establishing a new restructuring plan procedure for failing companies that includes a mechanism to bind a dissenting class of creditors to the plan, and banning termination clauses that would come into effect when a company enters into insolvency, begins a moratorium or starts the new restructuring plan procedure. The Bill will also temporarily remove the threat of personal liability from wrongful trading for directors of companies where they face financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19, which will apply retrospectively from March 1, 2020.

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The International Organization of Securities Commissions, the international policy forum for securities regulators, has published a statement on the disclosure standards that securities issuers should adhere to in the context of COVID-19.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority will temporarily allow regulated firms subject to continuing professional development requirements to carry over any uncompleted CPD hours to the following 12-month period, for years ending before April 1, 2021. Firms should review the FCA’s conditions for carrying over CPD requirements, which include where an individual, due to the current exceptional circumstances arising from COVID-19, will be unable to complete their CPD hours in their current CPD period. The FCA also notes that firms are still expected to demonstrate that relevant individuals remain competent to carry out their work and it expects most individuals to be able to continue to complete CPD while on furlough or working from home.
 
View the FCA's announcement on CPD requirements.
 
Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The European Commission has published an adjusted 2020 Work Program to reflect the unexpected challenges arising from COVID-19. The Commission still intends to deliver on the commitments made under its original Work Program, published in January 2020, but has adjusted the timing of certain actions necessary to achieve its objectives. An update on the delivery and expected timing of the objectives under the adjusted Work Program are set out in an amended version of Annex 1 on the Commission’s website.

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The European Banking Authority has published a report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial health of EU banks. The report is mostly based on supervisory data submitted by banks in Q4 2019 and Q1 2020. The EBA's report confirms that banks have activated their contingency plans in response to the crisis, however, their operational capabilities remain under pressure. In addition, some banks have used parts of their capital and liquidity buffers and are expected to continue to do so in the coming months. The report also confirms that the asset quality of banks is likely to continue deteriorating as non-performing loan volumes increase.

View the EBA's report.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The Bank of England has announced that it will discontinue its three-month Contingent Term Repo Facility at the end of May 2020, with the final operation scheduled to take place on May 28, 2020. The BoE’s one-month CTRF operations will continue on a weekly basis until at least June 26, 2020. The BoE has also said that it will reintroduce the operations if necessary. 
 
The CTRF was established by the BoE in March 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, allowing financial market participants to borrow central bank reserves in exchange for less liquid assets.
 
View the BoE's market notice on amendments to the CTRF.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a new statement on the application of regulatory capital and IFRS 9 requirements to payment holidays granted or extended to address COVID-19. The statement follows the announcements made by the PRA, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the U.K. Financial Reporting Council in March 2020 on financial reporting and audit requirements in light of COVID-19. Those announcements included a letter from the PRA to banks on the application of IFRS 9 (including expected credit loss accounting) to loan arrangements during the pandemic.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published two consultations on its draft guidance for firms on mortgages and safeguarding customers’ funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The first consultation relates to the FCA’s proposed guidance on how mortgage lenders should treat customers coming to the end of a payment holiday or those yet to request one. The timeframe for customers who have not yet benefited from a payment holiday to apply for one will be extended to October 31, 2020. The current ban on house repossessions will also be extended to October 31, 2020.

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The U.K. Government has published the U.K. Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill. The Bill amends aspects of insolvency and company law to assist firms struggling to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures include:
 

• A new moratorium giving companies breathing space from creditors while they investigate rescue options;
• A prohibition on contractual termination upon insolvency clauses, preventing suppliers from refusing to supply goods while a company is going through a rescue process;
• A temporary removal of liability for wrongful trading for company directors who try to keep their businesses operating through the pandemic;
• A temporary prohibition on the filing of statutory demands and winding up petitions by creditors; and
• Temporary permission for companies to hold closed Annual General Meetings.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a statement calling for transparency in the half-year financial reports of EU-listed issuers. The statement focuses on interim financial statements that need to be prepared according to IFRS standards and on interim management reports for 2020 half-yearly reporting periods. However, the statement is also relevant to the reporting of financial information in other interim periods. ESMA highlights that issuers must provide updated and useful information that covers the current and expected impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their financial position, performance and cash-flows. In addition, issuers should identify the principal risks and uncertainties to which they are exposed.

View ESMA's statement.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a Policy Statement on its approach to implementing the European Banking Authority's Technical Standards and Guidelines on Probability of Default estimation, Loss Given Default estimation and the treatment of defaulted exposures in the Internal Ratings Based approach to credit risk. The EBA's regulatory products are designed to address concerns about the variability of own funds requirements arising from the internal models that firms use to calculate their minimum credit risk capital requirements under the Capital Requirements Regulation. The Policy Statement is relevant to U.K. banks, building societies and PRA-designated U.K. investment firms.

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The U.K. Government intends to exempt financial services firms from certain provisions of the new U.K. Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill. The Bill, announced on March 28, 2020, will amend aspects of the U.K. insolvency regime (as set out under the Insolvency Act 1986) in light of the financial difficulties faced by many businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bill also includes provisions for companies’ annual general meetings and filing requirements during the COVID-19 crisis.

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The European Systemic Risk Board has established five priority areas on which it intends to take action to combat the impact of COVID-19 on the EU financial system. In determining its actions, the ESRB hopes to ensure an effective response to the pandemic across the EU that prevents individual Member State actions from negatively impacting the EU Single Market and to take advantage of flexibility in regulatory standards to support financial institutions in providing financial services and liquidity.

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The Bank for International Settlements has published a report on financial crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Report provides an overview of the increase in financial crime observed since the COVID-19 outbreak, which includes an increase in cyber threats, greater misuse of online financial services and virtual assets to move illicit funds and possible corruption associated with government stimulus funds. The Report also describes the cyber resilience measures proposed by national and international agencies and the AML actions taken by supervisory bodies, including the issuance of public statements to raise awareness of COVID-19-related AML risks, provision of guidance on the application of existing AML/CTF frameworks and coordination with the financial sector for the reporting of COVID-19-related fraud.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a statement confirming its support for the European Systemic Risk Board's Recommendation on tackling the implications of market illiquidity for asset managers with exposures to corporate debt and real estate. In accordance with the ESRB's Recommendation, ESMA intends to coordinate with Member State national regulators to engage closely with these asset managers. The supervisory engagement ties in with ESMA's common supervisory action, announced in January 2020, on liquidity risk management by managers of Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities.

View ESMA's statement on fund managers' liquidity risk management.

View details of the ESRB's Recommendation.

View details of ESMA's common supervisory action on liquidity risk management for UCITS.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has announced a series of updates to the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates’ proposed implementation of LIBOR reforms. In March 2020, the RFRWG published a roadmap for the discontinuation of new sterling LIBOR lending by the end of Q3 2020. The FCA, Bank of England and RFRWG now acknowledge that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will no longer be feasible to transition away from LIBOR across all sterling LIBOR-linked loans by this proposed deadline.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published guidance on how firms should handle post and paper documents during COVID-19. The FCA expects firms to continue to comply with requirements for post and paper-based processes and, where this is not possible, firms should notify the FCA. The FCA also expects firms to contact customers who do not use online services in a timely manner and should be able to demonstrate any steps they have taken to mitigate the impact of any non-compliance with usual post and paper-based processes.

Firms should also ask customers who have sent cheques via post that have not yet been processed to contact the firm. The firm should consider whether the cheque relates to client money under the FCA’s Client Assets Sourcebook regime, whether they are able to provide the services without cashing the cheque and, if so, whether their intended actions are in compliance with the FCA Client Assets Sourcebook.

View the FCA's statement on post and paper documents.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee and Monetary Policy Committee have published reports focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on the U.K. economy and banking sector, together with the minutes of their May Committee meetings and a transcript of the BoE’s joint FPC and MPC press conference, discussing the findings of the Committee reports.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has issued guidance on financial crime controls and information security for financial services firms during COVID-19. The FCA notes the increase in cyber-crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of which may be magnified by operational disruptions arising from working from home arrangements. Firms are expected to be proactive in managing the increased risks during this period, including being vigilant about the potential increase in cyber risks, ensuring they maintain appropriate governance and oversight arrangements, reviewing the impact of COVID-19 on their information security defenses and ensuring that general notification requirements are followed and significant cyber incidents are reported.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has extended the maximum period for which FCA solo-regulated firms are permitted to arrange cover for a Senior Manager without seeking the FCA's approval from 12 to 36 weeks, within a consecutive 12-month period. Firms will be able to reallocate an absent Senior Manager's prescribed responsibilities for up to a 36-week period via an application for a modification by consent of the FCA's standard 12-week rule. The modification by consent will apply from the date of the firm's application until April 30, 2021. The FCA is yet to issue any further guidance regarding the application of the 12-week rule to U.K. dual-regulated firms.

View the FCA's modification by consent to the 12-week rule.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a statement reminding firms of their MiFID II conduct of business obligations in light of a significant increase in investment accounts opened by retail clients, together with a surge in retail clients' trading activities.

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HM Treasury's Bounce Back Loan Scheme has launched today. The scheme provides government guarantees for loans between £2,000 to £50,000 and will enable small businesses to apply for loans quickly and easily. The loans will also be subject to a flat interest rate of 2.5% and firms that have already taken out a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan of £50,000 are entitled to apply for it to be switched to the BBLS. HM Treasury has also published a Dear CEO letter addressed to accredited lenders describing the pricing and regulation of the BBLS and the interaction between the BBLS and the CBILS. Loans of £25,000 or less made under the BBLS will also fall outside the regulatory perimeter for the purposes of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

View HM Treasury's announcement on the BBLS.

View HMT's Dear CEO letter on BBLS.

View details of the regulatory perimeter exemption for the BBLS.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a statement on credit risk mitigation eligibility and the leverage ratio treatment of loans made under HM Treasury's Bounce Back Loan Scheme and a separate modification by consent of the exclusion of loans under the BBLS from the calculation of the total exposure measure of the leverage ratio.

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The European Supervisory Authorities have published updated joint draft Regulatory Technical Standards amending the existing EU risk mitigation techniques for uncleared OTC derivatives. In December 2019, the ESAs published a draft RTS to amend existing bilateral margin requirements made under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation in line with certain clarifications made to the related international framework by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. These updated draft RTS include all those amendments and also delay the upcoming bilateral margin requirements to bring the EU framework in line with the global timeline. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Basel Committee announced in April 2020, a one-year deferral for the implementation of the final two phases of the joint Basel Committee and International Organization of Securities Commissions' framework for non-centrally cleared derivatives margin requirements.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has announced a new digital sandbox pilot program, which will provide regulatory support for innovative firms whose business plan addresses issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic. The FCA intends to open the sandbox for applications in summer and, in the meantime, welcomes any expressions of interest from interested innovative firms. The FCA had been planning a digital sandbox before the pandemic, but is fast-tracking the process in light of the challenges facing firms and how the sandbox might assist them.

View the FCA's announcement.

The Financial Action Task Force has published a report on financial crime (including money laundering and terrorism financing activities) during COVID-19, identifying challenges, good practices and policy responses to the emerging threats and vulnerabilities.

The increased threats identified include fraud from criminals attempting to profit from the pandemic, a spike in cyber crime, particularly phishing emails and spam campaigns and a corresponding impact on other predicate crimes including human trafficking, exploitation of workers, online child exploitation and organized property crime. In conjunction, confinement and social distancing measures designed to combat COVID-19 are impacting government and private sector capacity to implement AML and CTF obligations.

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The Bank of England and U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority have issued a statement on changes to the resolution measures applicable to the major U.K. banks and building societies, designed to ease the operational burden on firms in the wake of COVID-19.

The dates by which firms must submit their first reports describing their preparations for resolution, and publish summaries of those reports, under the BoE and PRA’s new Resolvability Assessment Framework have been extended by one year. The first reports should be submitted to the PRA by October 2021 and public disclosures should be made by June 2022.

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HM Treasury has published the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Order 2020, exempting certain loans made under the U.K. Government's Bounce Back Loan Scheme from regulation under the U.K. financial regulatory regime. The Order applies to loans of £25,000 or less made under the BBLS by commercial lenders to sole traders, unincorporated associations and partnerships of four people. These loans will be classed as exempt credit agreements and will therefore largely not be subject to the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. 

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has granted firms an additional six months to implement strong customer authentication for e-commerce, extending the deadline from March 14, 2021 to September 14, 2021. The forbearance has been granted in light of the exceptional circumstances arising from COVID-19, in a bid to minimize disruption to consumers and merchants.

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The European Central Bank has announced a series of modifications to its targeted longer-term refinancing operations (referred to as TLTRO III) to facilitate ongoing access of firms and households to bank credit. TLTRO III is the latest in the series of Eurosystem refinancing operations that provide financing to Eurozone credit institutions.
 

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority have published guidance for firms on the implications of HM Treasury's amendments to the U.K. Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the introduction of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

HM Treasury has announced the new BBLS which will run alongside the existing CBILS and CLBILS, providing government guarantees for loans to small businesses of between £2,000 and £50,000. The minimum threshold for CBILS loans will be increased to £50,001, and firms with existing CBILS loans of £50,000 or less will be entitled to switch their facility to the BBLS. The BBLS will launch for applications from May 4, 2020.

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The European Banking Authority has published guidance on its supervisory flexibility for certain aspects of the European bank prudential regulatory framework, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a Q&A guide on how banks should use their capital and liquidity buffers during the COVID-19 crisis. The PRA and Financial Policy Committee have stressed the important role that banks must play in providing liquidity to the economy in the wake of the pandemic, using all tools at their disposal, including the buffers built up in the years since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a statement on its expectations for wet-ink signatures in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The FCA confirms that FCA rules do not require wet-ink signatures for agreements and do not prevent the use of electronic signatures either. However, the FCA stresses the validity of electronic signatures is a legal matter, for which firms should seek legal advice, if appropriate.

The FCA also states that firms may use electronic signatures in submitting forms.

View the FCA's statement on wet-ink signatures.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a statement on its intended approach to prudential regulation of FCA solo-regulated firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Firms are expected to plan ahead and prudently manage their financial resources. Firms that have been set capital buffers are permitted to use them to support the continuation of their activities, but should contact the FCA if they intend to draw down a buffer. Firms should also maintain up-to-date wind-down plans taking account of the impact of COVID-19 and should contact the FCA if they are concerned about their ability to meet debts as they fall due or their wind-down plans identify material execution risks. Boards should be satisfied that any discretionary distributions of capital to fund share buy-backs, dividends, or upstream cash are prudent.
 
View the FCA's statement on financial resilience for solo-regulated firms.

The European Central Bank has announced its decision to temporarily reduce capital requirements for market risk in response to high levels of volatility arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction will be effected via the reduction of the qualitative market risk multiplier, a supervisory measure that is set by regulators and used to compensate for underestimation of market risk capital requirements. The ECB's decision will be reviewed after six months.
 
View the ECB's announcement on capital requirements relief for market risk.

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have published an Action Plan for the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Action Plan covers the healthcare, economic and fiscal responses that G20 members have agreed to undertake, as well as measures to ensure a return to a strong and sustainable global economy, the provision of support to countries in need and the learning of lessons in preparation for future crises.

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The European Central Bank, Banking Supervision has published a letter addressed to the significant Eurozone banks that it directly prudentially supervises under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The ECB, Banking Supervision, expresses its support of the EBA's statement dated March 31, 2020 on supervisory reporting and Pillar 3 disclosures. In line with the EBA's statement, the ECB: (i) confirms that significant Eurozone banks may delay by one month the submission of supervisory data for remittance dates between March 2020 and May 2020; (ii) excludes information on the liquidity coverage ratio; and (iii) is allowing firms an additional two months to submit information on funding plans.

The ECB recommends that Eurozone national regulators should apply the same delays to the smaller Eurozone banks.

View the ECB's letter to significant banks.

View details of the EBA's statement on supervisory reporting and Pillar 3 disclosures.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The Financial Stability Board has published a report to the G20 on the financial stability implications and policy measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The report provides an overview of the impact on financial stability of the outbreak and describes the policy actions taken by FSB member jurisdictions. The FSB confirms that it is monitoring financial resilience, focusing on the ability of:

• financial institutions and markets to channel funds to the real economy;
• market participants to obtain U.S. dollar funding, particularly in emerging markets;
• financial intermediaries to manage liquidity risk; and
• market participants and financial market infrastructures, such as CCPs, to manage evolving counterparty risks.

The report also sets out how the FSB is supporting international cooperation and coordination on the COVID-19 response by: (i) information sharing; (ii) conducting financial stability risk assessments; and (iii) assisting with coordinating responses on policy issues.

View the FSB's report to the G20 on the COVID-19 response.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Dear CEO letter to U.K. regulated banks on lending to small businesses. In the letter, the interim Chief Executive, Christopher Woolard, reminds banks about the importance of ensuring that the benefits of the Government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme are passed to the businesses and consumers that need it. The FCA confirms that it and the PRA are monitoring the level of lending to businesses.

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The Financial Stability Board has published a letter from Randal K. Quarles, the FSB Chair, to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The letter highlights that the financial sector needs to respond to a "twin challenge": the increased demand for credit throughout the global economy and the uncertainty around the value of assets. The letter describes how the FSB and its member jurisdictions have responded to the pandemic to support local and global market functioning, discussing in particular, the steps taken to maintaining financial stability and supporting the real economy during the COVID-19 crisis. The letter also outlines the work to promote a global financial system that supports a strong recovery, including the FSB's prioritizing of certain areas, namely non-bank financial intermediation, the orderly transition away from LIBOR, utilizing technological innovation to assist in cybersecurity and promoting efficient and resilient cross-border payments.

View the FSB's letter.

Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a public statement announcing the delay of the publication dates of the annual transparency calculations for non-equity instruments. ESMA's statement is made in response to the impact of the coronavirus. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation, which became effective on January 3, 2018, introduced pre- and post-trade transparency requirements for equity and non-equity financial instruments. ESMA is postponing the publication of the annual transparency calculation for derivatives, exchange traded commodities, exchange traded notes, emission allowances and structured finance products from April 30, 2020 to July 15, 2020 and their application from June 1, 2020 to September 15, 2020. The transitional transparency calculations will continue to apply until September 14, 2020 (inclusive). The publication and application of the annual transparency calculations for bonds remain unchanged. The new thresholds will be applicable from June 1, 2020.

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