The European Banking Authority published a consultation paper on draft Regulatory Technical Standards on the framework for cooperation and exchange of information between national regulators for passporting under the revised Payment Services Directive (known as PSD2). The aims of PSD2, which focuses on electronic payments and payment services within the EU, include making payments between Member States as secure, easy and efficient as those made within a Member State, regulating new types of payment services and payment services providers which are currently unregulated and stimulating competition in the electronic payments market. The RTS aim to ensure that: (i) information about those entities that carry out business in EU Member States is exchanged between national regulators in a consistent way; (ii) there is clarity for payment institutions about their regulatory requirements; and (iii) the information that is to be shared between national regulators is specified. Comments are due by March 11, 2016.
 
View the consultation paper.

The Financial Conduct Authority published its thematic review on flows of confidential and inside information, presenting the results of an evaluation into how a sample of investment banks manage the confidential and inside information that they receive and generate. The review outlines good and poor practices mainly in the Debt Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions departments of small to medium investment firms and is aimed at all FCA-regulated firms, to assist them in considering how efficient their procedures, systems and controls are. The review is aimed at senior managers as well as front office staff and all staff that make up the first, second and third lines of defense at UK firms that are FCA-regulated. Ultimate responsibility however remains with senior management and the FCA expects senior managers to be aware of their obligations and of the risks of handling confidential and inside information in an inappropriate way. The review states that all UK FCA-regulated firms should ensure that their arrangements are fit for purpose so that they meet the standards of the review, and make suitable improvements where necessary. These arrangements should be consistently reviewed from both a market abuse and conduct of business viewpoint, taking into account any new risks that may arise due to external factors such as market practices or macroeconomic issues.
 
View the review.

The Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority elected its Alternate Chairperson and members of its Management Board. Mr. Pedro Duarte Neves has been elected Alternate Chairperson of the EBA Board of Supervisors and Mr. Andrzej Reich has been elected Management Board member. Both were re-elected for a second term. Mr. Édouard Fernández-Bollo and Mr. David Rozumek have been elected as new members of the EBA Management Board.
 
View the press release.

The Financial Stability Board published a progress report from the Enhanced Disclosure Task Force on the implementation of the EDTF's recommendations for enhancing risk disclosures of banks. The report, which covers 40 global or domestic systemically important banks, includes updates based on 2014 annual reports as well as self-assessments by banks and assessments made by users of financial disclosures. The report states that the self-assessments provided by banks show disclosure of 82% of the information recommended by the EDTF. This represents an increase of 7% from the previous year. The report also states that there are still significant opportunities for banks to improve credit risk disclosures and that credit risk disclosures vary significantly across different countries, with UK banks having the highest implementation rates.
 
View the report.

The European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (known as the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities) published a discussion paper on automation in financial advice. The paper addresses the various ways in which consumers can use automated tools, mainly websites, without human intervention to receive financial guidance. The discussion paper aims to assess what regulatory or supervisory action may be required to mitigate the risks associated with automation whilst still being able to harness its potential benefits. Potential benefits of automation are a decrease in the costs of providing advice, provision of more consistent advice and potentially wider market access for consumers. However, the potential risks include consumers possibly misunderstanding advice provided to them through automated tools, consumers receiving unsuitable advice and the potential for errors in automated tools. The discussion paper seeks views on the ESAs observations on automation in financial advice across EU jurisdictions. Comments on the discussion paper are due by March 4, 2016.
 
View the discussion paper.

The Payment Systems Regulator published a consultation paper on the application of the Interchange Fee Regulation in the UK. The European Regulation which was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 19, 2015 is directly applicable in the UK. The Regulation introduces caps on interchange fees on debit and credit card transactions where the issuer and acquirer are both located in the EEA. The consultation, which will be conducted in two phases, seeks views on how the monitoring of compliance with the IFR provisions should be approached. The PSR has therefore published draft guidance alongside the consultation paper, setting out the proposed approach to the provisions of the IFR that come into force on December 9, 2015. The second phase of the consultation will follow in due course and will cover the remaining provisions that come into force on June 9, 2016. Comments on the consultation paper are due by January 29, 2016.
 
View the consultation paper.
 
View the draft guidance. 

​The New York State Department of Financial Services proposed a new anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulation, known as the Transaction Monitoring and Filtering Program regulation. The main requirements of the proposed regulation include maintenance by each regulated institution of (i) a transaction monitoring program for the purpose of monitoring transactions after their execution for potential BSA/AML violations and suspicious activity reporting and (ii) a watch list filtering program to prevent transactions, before their execution, that are prohibited by applicable sanctions, including OFAC and other sanctions lists, politically exposed persons lists, and internal watch lists. The proposed regulation sets forth additional minimum requirements for each institution’s Transaction Monitoring and Filtering Program and also includes an annual certification requirement, modeled on Sarbanes-Oxley, that senior financial executives must certify that their institutions have necessary systems in place to identify and prevent illicit transactions. The regulation will published in the New York State Register, commencing a 45-day notice and comment period.

View the press release.

View the proposed regulation.

 
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities published a list of identified Financial Conglomerates for 2015. The list indicates that: (i) 78 FCs' heads of group are located in a EU or EEA country; (ii) one FC head of group is located in Australia; (iii) one FC head of group is located in Switzerland; and (iv) two FCs' heads of group are located in the United States. The list is updated and published annually by the ESAs and shows figures as at 31 December 2014.
 
View the list.

The European Parliament issued a press release announcing an extension to the terms of office for the current Chairpersons of the three European Supervisory Authorities. Mr Andrea Enria will enter his second term as Chair of the European Banking Authority, as will Mr Stephen Maijoor as Chair for the European Securities and Markets Authority and Mr Gabriel Bernardino for the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. All three terms have been extended by five years. The terms of office for the current ESAs' executive directors Mr Adam Farkas and Ms Verena Ross have also been extended.
 
View the press release.

HM Treasury published a policy paper on boosting competition in the UK which, amongst other things, states that the UK government aims to boost competition with the establishment of a New Bank Start-Up Unit which will make it easier for new banks to enter the market. The new unit will be launched by the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority on January, 20 2016 and will provide firms with named case officers at both regulators that will be able to assist new banks wishing to enter the market and through the early stages of authorization.
 
View the policy paper.

The European Banking Authority published a report setting out the results of its 2015 EU-wide transparency exercise. The results provide data on capital positions, risk exposure amounts and asset quality on a bank-by-bank basis for 105 banks from 21 EEA countries. The report is based on existing supervisory reporting data submitted to the EBA and shows that capital levels have strengthened through banks raising additional equity and retaining earnings. The report also shows that quality of assets and levels of profitability have improved since 2014 and that there has been a general increase in the resilience of the EU banking sector since December 2014.
 
View the results.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures published a report on digital currencies. The report aims to address the various impacts that digital currencies may have on financial markets and the wider economy, such as potential disruptions to business models and the creation of new economic interactions. The report, amongst other things, deals with regulatory issues and approaches for digital currencies such as: (i) consumer protection; (ii) prudential and organisational rules for different stakeholders; and (iii) specific operating rules as payment mechanisms. The report states that coordinated approaches for regulation at a global level may be important in addition to ones taken at national level, and lists five possible categories of actions: (i) to highlight the risks towards users and investors and influencing the market through moral suasion; (ii) to regulate specific entities; (iii) to assess whether existing regulatory arrangements can be applied to digital currencies; (iv) to seek a broader approach to regulation, for example, by national regulators making consumer protection arrangements that apply to other payment methods used by consumers also apply to transactions conducted with digital currencies; and (v) national regulators banning the use of digital currencies in their respective jurisdictions.
 
View the report.

The final Review on the failure of HBOS plc was published by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The Review assesses the strategy adopted by HBOS, how HBOS failed (focusing on asset quality, reliance on wholesale funding and capital), the role of management, governance and the culture of HBOS and the Financial Services Authority's (the UK regulator at the time of the failure of HBOS) regulatory approach. The HBOS group was formed by the merger of the former Halifax Building Society and Bank of Scotland. Recommendations include: (i) a bank's Board is responsible for ensuring a firm has a sustainable business model and for embedding the principle of safety and soundness in a firm's culture. The Review notes that directors will have specific accountabilities for this under the Senior Managers Regime from March 7, 2016; (ii) the non-executive directors of a bank must have diverse  experience and the capacity to challenge key business issues; (iii) senior managers should proactively seek to identify threats to the safety and soundness of their firm and notify the regulators when issues arise; (iv) regulators must be willing and able to intervene where necessary, free from undue influence; (v) the UK regulators should understand the scope of oversight provided by a local regulator for globally active banks to understand the extent of the reliance that they can place on local regulatory authorities; and (vi) UK regulators should be aware of potential conflicts of interest arising from the composition of their boards.  

View the Review and related documents.

The final Report into the Financial Services Authority's enforcement actions following the failure of HBOS plc, prepared by Andrew Green Q.C., was published by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The Report assesses the reasonableness of the scope of the FSA's enforcement investigations in relation to the failure of HBOS from October 1, 2008 to September 12, 2012 and concludes that the scope was not reasonable, that the FSA's decision-making process was materially flawed and that the FSA should have conducted a wider investigation or series of investigations into the conduct of the HBOS Corporate Division and Mr Cummings, CEO of the Corporate Division at the relevant time. Recommendations include: (i) the regulators should have a system for pre-referral decision-making through which they identify and record the potential individuals that could be the subject of enforcement action related to an event/s, including reasons. One individual at the regulator/s should be made responsible for the pre-referral decision-making process; (ii) there should be an ongoing dialogue between Supervision and Enforcement, including discussions on the appropriateness of the scope of the investigation and any decisions should be recorded; (iii) the Memorandum of Appointment of Investigators issued to individuals by the regulators should include a summary of the potential breaches and an explanation of the matters that give rise to those alleged breaches; and (iv) the minutes of a regulators' Executive Committee meetings should be subject to review and approval. The Report also recommends that the PRA and FCA consider whether to investigate other former senior managers at HBOS with a view to prohibition proceedings.
 
View the report.

The SEC proposed rules that would require Alternative Trading Systems that trade stocks listed on national securities exchanges, including “dark pools”, to make certain detailed disclosures regarding their operations and the activities of their broker-dealer operators and affiliates. The proposed Form ATS-N would, among other things, require disclosure of: (i) information regarding trading by the broker-dealer operator and its affiliates on the ATS; (ii) 7 FINANCIAL REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS FOCUS November 25, 2015 Issue 44/2015 the types of orders and market data used on the ATS; and (iii) the ATS’ execution and priority procedures. The proposed rules would make Form ATS-N disclosures publicly available on the SEC’s website. The SEC will accept public comment on the proposal for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

View the text of the SEC proposed rule.

The Financial Stability Board published its finalized standards and processes for global securities financing data collection and aggregation. The report sets out the data that national regulators are to report as aggregates to the FSB, for financial stability purposes. The standards, amongst other things, define the data elements for repurchase agreements, securities lending and margin lending that national regulators will be asked to report to the FSB. The report also sets out recommendations for national regulators on the collection of data from market participants, so that timely and comprehensive visibility into trends and developments in these markets can be obtained.
 
View the FSB's standards and processes.

US Federal Reserve Board Governor, Jerome H. Powell, delivered a speech at The Clearing House annual conference discussing progress made in strengthening CCPs and expanding central clearing for repurchase agreement markets. Governor Powell touted global regulatory efforts to strengthen CCP resiliency, but noted that there is still work to be done due to the concentrated risks inherent to CCPs. His remarks focused largely on repurchase agreement transactions, where he enumerated the benefits of executing these transactions through a CCP. He noted that the use of a CCP provides market participants with greater transparency into potential risks by aggregating and standardizing market data. Additionally, CCPs may stabilize the financial system in the event of a defaulting counterparty by transferring defaulting positions to solvent parties, or otherwise managing such defaults, thereby reducing the risk of “fire sales” by non-defaulting counterparties. Finally, Governor Powell noted the risk-sharing benefits of utilizing CCPs. He concluded by urging regulators to consider implementing greater clearing solutions in markets with highly liquid assets, such as repurchase agreement trading for government and agency securities.
​
View the speech. 

The G20 Leaders published a communiqué about their recent summit in Antalya. The press release, amongst other things, refers to enhancing the resilience and stability of financial institutions and systems, noting that core elements of the financial reform agenda have been completed, such as the finalization of the Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity for Global Systemically Important Banks. Further work is however going, in particular on: (i) CCP resilience; (ii) recovery planning and resolvability; (iii) the decline in correspondent banking services; and (iv) the implementation of OTC derivatives reforms. The G20 leaders will next meet in Hangzhou, China, in September 2016.
 
View the communiqué.

The SEC named Sanket J. Bulsara as the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation and Adjudication.

​The SEC named Marc Wyatt Director of its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations and leader of its National Exam Program.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions published its final report on standards for the custody of Collective Investment Schemes' assets. The report seeks to develop guidance for the custody of CIS assets consistent with the IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation. The report sets out standards that aim to identify core issues that require consistent review to ensure investors' assets are well protected. The key risks identified by the report are: (i) operational risk; (ii) misuse of CIS assets; (iii) risk of fraud or theft; and (iv) information technology risk. The report sets out the role and responsibilities of custodians and examines the ways in which key risks associated with the custody of CIS assets can be managed and mitigated.
 
View the report.

HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority jointly published a policy statement on the implementation of the directive amending the Transparency Directive, setting out final rules and summarizing feedback received on their previous joint consultation on proposed amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules (known as DTRs) for such implementation. The policy statement sets out the responses to the previous consultation, including on the requirement to disclose voting rights arising from holdings of financial instruments that have a similar economic effect to holding shares, as well as on the extension of deadlines for the publication of half-yearly reports and the period of time for which financial reports are publicly available. The policy statement also includes the FCA's new DTRs Sourcebook (Transparency Directive Amending Directive) Instrument 2015, implementing the changes as set out in the policy statement. The new rules enter into force on November 26, 2015.
 
View the Policy Statement.

The European Securities and Markets Authority announced it had elected three members to its management board, replacing outgoing members whose terms expire in November 2015. Lourdes Centeno and Elisabeth Roegele are both new members, whilst Klaus Kumpfmüller has been re-elected for another term. All three members will serve a term of two and half years starting December 1, 2015.
 
View the press release.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC and OCC released results from the annual Shared National Credit review. The SNC review has been conducted by the banking agencies since 1977 to assess risk in the largest and most complex credits shared by numerous financial institutions. A SNC generally includes large loans or formal loan commitment extended to borrowers by a federally supervised institution, its subsidiaries and certain affiliates and is shared by three or more unaffiliated supervised institutions. According to the release, leveraged lending continues to be a key issue in the SNC portfolio. Specifically, the agencies noted that leveraged transactions originated over the past year continue to show structural deficiencies, an issue that has persistently been cited by US regulators as problematic, including the 2013 interagency guidance on leveraged lending. The release notes that there seems to be a discrepancy between industry practices and safe and sound banking expectations when looking at leveraged transaction structures. The review also pointed out weaknesses related to oil and gas credits. 

View the press release. 

View the SNC Review. 

Mr. David Lewis was appointed Executive Secretary of the Financial Action Task Force as of November 1, 2015.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a final rule and a notice of proposed rulemaking that revise certain provisions of its Securitization Safe Harbor Rule. The final rule pertains to the treatment of financial assets transferred in connection with a securitization or participation. The rule clarifies the requirements of the securitization safe harbor as to the retention of an economic interest in the credit risk of securitized financial assets in connection with the effectiveness of the credit risk retention regulations adopted under Section 15G of the Securities Exchange Act. The final rule will be effective on the date that is the later of (i) 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and (ii) January 1, 2016. The notice of proposed rulemaking intends to align the Securitization Safe Harbor Rule with US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations dealing with the servicing of residential mortgages that became effective in January 2014. Specifically, the proposed rule would clarify that the requirement that a servicer take loss mitigation action within 90 days of delinquency does not necessitate that the securitization documents require a servicer to act contrary to the CFPB's mortgage loan servicing requirements as set forth in Regulation X. Comments on the proposed rule will be due 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.

View the FDIC’s final rule.

 
The European Securities and Markets Authority published, as part of the preparations for the revised Transparency Directive entering into force on November 26, 2015, the following: (i) a new standard form for issuers to disclose details of their home member state to relevant national regulator; (ii) a new standard form for the notification of major holdings to relevant national regulators; (iii) an updated indicative list of financial instruments subject to notification requirements; and (iv) an update to its Q&As on the Transparency Directive.
 
View the ESMA documents.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market announced that it was officially open for business and that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority was ready to accept applications for a license from financial institutions. The ADGM is the newest international financial centre and it has adopted English common law by applying it in its jurisdiction for civil and commercial law. The application of English common law will govern matters such as contracts, tort, trusts, equitable remedies, unjust enrichment, damages, conflicts of laws, security and personal property.

Shearman & Sterling helped develop ADGM's world-class legal and regulatory regime to be in line with international standards to provide the sophistication and certainty found in the world’s top financial centres. The firm drafted all the Financial Services and Markets Regulations and Financial Services Regulatory Authority Rules as well as legislation governing matters such as companies, insolvency, interpretation, commercial licensing, arbitration, courts, employment, limited liability partnerships, real property and strata title.

View the ADGM press release.

The European Supervisory Authorities published two consultations on proposed joint guidelines for: (i) financial institutions on the factors for financial institutions to consider when assessing money laundering and counter terrorist financing risks associated with individual business relationships or occasional transactions and the extent to which a firm's customer due diligence can be adjusted based on the risk identified; and (ii) national regulators on the supervision of AML/CFT on a risk sensitive basis. The guidelines are required to be prepared by the ESA's by the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, also known as 4AMLD, which Member States must transpose into national law by June 26, 2017. The proposed guidelines would apply to banks, investment firms, insurers, insurance intermediaries, money brokerage firms, collective investment undertaking marketing its units or shares and to branches of those firms (regardless of whether their head office is located in an EU Member State or a third country) and to national regulators of those financial institutions. The consultations are open until January 22, 2016 and the ESA's expect to finalise them in Spring 2016. The final guidelines will apply from June 26, 2017.

View the proposed Risk Factors Guidelines.

View the proposed Risk-based Supervision Guidelines.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission named Wenchi Hu and Christian Sabella as Associate Directors in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. As Associate Director of Risk and Supervision, Ms. Hu will be responsible for supervising registered clearing agencies including those firms that clear securities-based swaps. Mr. Sabella will become Associate Director of Regulation, for which he will spearhead a team issuing recommendations for SEC policy and rulemaking focused on financial market infrastructure including clearing agencies, transfer agents and security-based swap data repositories. Ms. Hu joined the SEC in 2011 as a senior special counsel in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations before moving to the Office of Derivatives Policy in the Division of Trading and Markets. Mr. Sabella joined the SEC in 2011 as a branch chief in the Office of Trading Practices.

View the SEC press release.

The Regulatory Oversight Committee launched a consultation on its proposed approach to incorporating data on branches into the Global Legal Entity Identifier System, known as GLEIS. The ROC is proposing that only branches that meet the following conditions would be eligible for an LEI: (i) the branch is an international branch; (ii) the branch is registered in a publicly accessible local business registry or local regulatory registry in its host country; and (iii) the head office of the branch already has an LEI so that the two entities could be linked through their respective LEIs. Responses to the consultation are due by November 16, 2015.

View the consultation paper.

The UK Supreme Court considered the case of United States of America v Nolan. The case gave thought to whether a statutory instrument made under section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 could effectively be deemed to amend a UK Act of Parliament. It was held that the ECA was wide enough for a statutory instrument to be effective in this way, however the Court found that the question was “difficult and borderline”. The EU Financial Collateral Directive was implemented in the UK via the Financial Collateral Regulations 2003, a statutory instrument, that was also made under the same section of the ECA. The Directive relates to title transfer financial collateral arrangements and security financial collateral arrangements made between certain classes of qualifying persons. Lord Mance considered previous case law on section 2 of the ECA, and in particular the decision taken in Cukurova Finance International Ltd v HM Treasury which related to the FCR. Lord Mance considered that Cukurova's unsuccessful challenge was "greatly underestimated", suggesting that it may have been wrongly decided, casting doubts on the enforceability of certain aspects of the FCR.  In our view, these remarks are obiter dicta, given that the particular situation of these regulations was not at issue in the case.
 
View the decision in USA v Nolan.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced the appointment of Lawrence Gross, Jr., as the new Chief Information Officer. As CIO, Mr. Gross will advise senior leaders at the FDIC on a number of information technology-related issues including governance, investment, program management, strategic planning, and security. Mr. Gross has over 25 years of experience in technology-related roles both in the federal government and in military service.

View the FDIC press release.

The SEC announced that Michael Liftik will replace Erica Williams as deputy chief of staff of the agency. Since April 2013, Mr. Liftik has been a Senior Advisor to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, counseling on enforcement policy matters and cases. He has worked with the SEC staff and other agencies to address issues such as the asset management industry, cybersecurity, and macroeconomic trends. He also serves as the representative of Chair White on the Deputies Committee of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

View the SEC press release.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that Kevin Stiroh has been named executive vice president in the New York Federal Reserve’s Integrated Policy Analysis Group as well as head of its Financial Institution Supervision Group, effective October 26, 2015. In his new roles, Mr. Stiroh will lead the teams responsible for supervising financial institutions in the Federal Reserve’s Second District. Mr. Stiroh has over 15 years of experience at the New York Federal Reserve and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

View the New York Federal Reserve press release.

The European Stability Mechanism appointed Andrew Harkness and Jean Guill to its Board of Auditors for a period of three years.

View the press release.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Chyhe Becker has been named the Associate Director in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, responsible for the Office of Litigation Economics. The appointment is effective immediately.

View the press release.

The European Stability Mechanism announced that Françoise Blondeel has been promoted to its Management Board. Ms Blondeel was previously Head of Middle and Back Office at the ESM and will now also be in charge of the ESM’s internal coordination.

View the press release.

The European Commission published its Action Plan for building the Capital Markets Union which follows its earlier consultation. The Action Plan sets out the steps for the medium and long term that the Commission intends to take in five priority areas: (i) providing more funding choices to EU businesses; (ii) ensuring an appropriate regulatory framework for long term investment and financing of Europe's infrastructure; (iii) increasing investment and choices for retail and institutional investors; (iv) improving bank lending capacity; and (v) removing cross-border barriers and developing more harmonized capital markets for all Member States. The Action Plan includes a detailed action list and indicative timeline of steps that the Commission intends to take, including publishing proposals to amend the Prospectus Directive before the end of 2015. Several proposals and consultations were published with the Action Plan, including (i) a call for evidence on the impact of the EU regulatory framework for financial services which seeks feedback on unnecessary regulatory burdens, inconsistencies, gaps and unintended consequences; and (ii) a proposed Commission Delegated Regulation amending the regulatory capital requirements for several categories of assets held by insurance and reinsurance undertakings.

View the Action Plan.

View the Call for Evidence.

View the proposed Commission Delegated Regulation.

The European Commission published a guide for small and medium enterprises on how to use crowdfunding. The guide describes the different types of crowdfunding available, such as peer-to-peer lending as well as equity, revenue-sharing, and debt-securities crowdfunding and includes details on how to plan and prepare for crowdfunding.

View the guide.

The Financial Stability Board convened to discuss its ongoing workplan. The FSB discussed issues including ending too-big-to-fail, transforming shadow banking into resilient market-based finance, risks associated with market liquidity and asset management activities, reducing misconduct and the prospective policies that could mitigate potential risks. Further to the FSB's consultation last year which proposed a global standard for Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity to be applied to Global Systematically Important Banks, addressing the risks of bail-outs funded by taxpayers, the FSB has now agreed the draft final principles and supports the consistent implementation of this standard. Amongst other things, the FSB has also identified areas in which it aims to conduct further detailed analysis relating to structural vulnerabilities in asset management, such as the mismatch between liquidity of fund investment and redemption terms of conditions for fund units, leverage within investment funds and securities lending activities of asset managers and funds. 

View the press release.

The European Central Bank announced that Pedro Gustavo Teixeira will become the new Secretary to the ECB's decision-making bodies and Director General Secretariat from January 1, 2016. Petra Senkovic will become Secretary to the Supervisory Board and Director in Directorate Secretariat to the Supervisory Board from January 1, 2016.

View the press release.

The European Securities and Markets Authority announced the extension of the terms of office for its Chair, Steven Maijoor, and Executive Director, Verena Ross by five years.  ESMA also announced the appointments of David Lawton, Misu Negritoiu and Edwin Schooling Latter as chairs of its standing committees, for a period of two years, from October 1, 2015.

View the press release.

View the press release.

The European Banking Authority published final translations of its Guidelines on methods for calculating contributions to Deposit Guarantee Schemes under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. The Guidelines include: (i) the principles that should be used for developing or approving methods for calculating contributions to DGSs; (ii) the mandatory elements of calculation methods; and (iii) the optional elements of calculation methods. National regulators must notify the EBA within two months of the publication of the translated guidelines whether they comply or intend to comply with those Guidelines.

View the Guidelines.

Participants of the US-EU Financial Market Regulatory Dialogue met to discuss key regulatory topics including recent developments in bank resolution, derivatives reforms, securitization and the creation of the a new Capital Markets Union, cybersecurity and plans to review the Prospectus Directive. Amongst other things, EU participants outlined the efforts that have been made to assist access to market-based funds through the creation of a CMU, and reported, together with participants from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission that constructive bilateral discussions were continuing on derivatives reform and in particular on recognition under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. Emphasis was placed on the importance of clear and well-designed recovery and resolution frameworks for CCPs and well-governed benchmark frameworks. The participants included representatives of the European Commission, European Securities and Markets Authority, European Banking Authority, US Treasury, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The next meeting will take place in Washington DC in February 2016.

View the joint statement.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Lara Shalov Mehraban has been named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in the New York Regional Office. Mehraban has been with the SEC since 2007 and has been an Assistant Regional Director in the office since 2012. Amelia Cottrell previously filled the position and left the agency in July 2015.

View the SEC press release.

Anthony J. Albanese, Acting Superintendent of Financial Services, announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services approved Circle Internet Financial's BitLicense application. This would make Circle Internet Financial the first company to receive a BitLicense from the NYDFS. The NYDFS finalized its BitLicense rules in June 2015 after receiving public comments on the proposed framework, making New York's BitLicense the first comprehensive regulatory framework for firms dealing in virtual currency. The rules include guidelines on consumer protection, anti-money laundering compliance and cybersecurity. The NYDFS has received 25 BitLicense applications to date.

View the press release.
 

The Financial Conduct Authority announced Georgina Phillippou's appointment to the FCA's Executive Committee as the new Chief Operating Officer.

View the press release.

The Financial Stability Board published three reports provided to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meetings in September this year. The reports are: 1. The Sixth Progress Report by the FSB and the International Monetary Fund on the Implementation of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative which states that the set of 20 recommendations to close the data gaps identified following the global financial crisis, known as the first phase, should be completed by end 2015/early 2016. 2. A Joint Progress Report by the FSB, IMF and Bank for International Settlements on foreign currency exposures. The work seeks to address data gaps involving FX exposures so as to prepare for improved assessments of cross-border risks and analyze the vulnerabilities arising from such exposures. The work requires building on existing data initiatives and heavy coordination between the FSB, IMF and BIS. 3. The FSB Final Report on Corporate Funding Structures and Incentives, which examines the factors that shape the liability structure of corporates focusing on the implications for financial stability

View the Sixth Progress Report on the G20 Data Gaps Initiative.

View the Joint Progress Report on FX Exposures.

View the Report on Corporate Funding Structures.

The Financial Conduct Authority published a press release announcing that the FCA and Payment Systems Regulator has appointed new members to its decision making committees. The FCA's Regulatory Decisions Committee will welcome Tim Parkes as Chair, Elizabeth France and John Hull as Deputy Chairs and Kevin Brown, Caroline Ramsay and Chris Cummings as members. The PSR's Enforcement Decisions Committee will also welcome Tim Parkes as Chair, Elizabeth France as Deputy Chair and Kevin Brown, Chris Cummings, Stuart McIntosh, Professor Robin Mason, Malcolm Nicholson, Caroline Ramsay and Jonathan Haskel as members. The FCA and PSR Competition Decisions Committee will welcome Jonathan Haskel, Stuart McIntosh, Professor Robin Mason and Malcolm Nicholson as members.

View the FCA announcement.