The Wolfsberg Group has published a statement on how financial institutions can develop an effective anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing program. The Wolfsberg Group was established in 2002 and comprises thirteen banks. Its objective is to develop frameworks and guidance for the management of financial crime risks, providing an industry perspective to effective financial crime risk management.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Dear CEO letter sent to U.K.-regulated firms providing non-discretionary investment services. The FCA letter makes clear that, where firms’ clients have increased the level of client money held with a firm, the firm should return client money that is unlikely to be reinvested in the short term. Many firms have reported an increase in client money levels as clients respond to the COVID-19 situation. The FCA states that senior management at firms should consider whether it would be in the best interest of their clients to return money that isn’t likely to be reinvested in the short term.

View the Dear CEO letter.

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

The European Banking Authority has opened a consultation on proposed guidelines on criteria for the use of data inputs in the risk measurement model under the Internal Model Approach for market risk, set out in the revised Capital Requirements Regulation, known as CRR2. The consultation closes on November 12, 2020.

CRR2 implements a revised framework for minimum capital requirements based upon market risk—the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book, published in January 2019 by the Basel Committee on Banking Standards. The revisions include an alternative IMA, one part of which is the expected shortfall risk measure used to determine capital requirements for those risk factors with sufficient available observable market data.

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The European Banking Authority has published guidance on the impact on supervisory reporting and disclosure of the EU's CRR Quick Fix adjustments, which were made in response to COVID-19. The CRR Quick Fix introduced changes to a broad range of requirements on firms under the Capital Requirements Regulation. It has applied directly across the EU since June 27, 2020. The EBA's guidance consists of:
 

1. Guidelines on supervisory reporting and disclosure requirements in compliance with the CRR "quick fix" in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic (EBA/GL/2020/11). These Guidelines aim to clarify how firms should report the Implementing Technical Standards on supervisory reporting versions 2.9 and 2.10, and on the existing ITS on disclosure of leverage ratio.

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The International Organization of Securities Commissions has published a report on liquidity provision in the secondary markets for equity securities. The report sets out common themes for regulators to consider as the main elements of market making programs that promote liquidity provision enhance investor confidence and facilitate fair and efficient markets. These key elements are: (i) registration of market makers; (ii) obligations imposed on market makers; (iii) balancing the obligations and benefits of the programs; (iv) monitoring program compliance; and (v) public disclosure.

View the report.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has opened a consultation on proposed principles for operational resilience and updated Principles for the Sound Management of Operational Risk (PSMOR). The consultation closes on November 6, 2020.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a Policy Statement and final rules on the temporary high balances coverage extension under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The PRA has decided to implement the proposal, made in July this year and in response to the coronavirus pandemic, to extend coverage under the FSCS for temporary high balances, from six months to 12 months from the date of the deposit or the first date the balance becomes legally transferrable to the depositor. The change will be effected by changes to the PRA's depositor protection rules and the Statement of Policy on the Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The change will take effect from August 6, 2020. The coverage will revert to six months from February 1, 2021.

View the Policy Statement, updated rules and Statement of Policy.

The European Banking Authority has launched a call for input on 'de-risking', whereby financial institutions avoid, rather than manage, the risks associated with money laundering or terrorist financing by terminating business relations with entire regions or classes of customers. The EBA is aiming to establish why financial institutions choose to de-risk instead of managing the related risks and to better understand the impact on access to financial services. Responses to the call for input can be provided until September 11, 2020. The feedback received will assist the EBA in preparing its next Opinion on the money laundering or terrorist financing risks impacting the EU which is due in Q1 2021.

View the call for input on de-risking.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation on liquidity mismatch in authorized open-ended property funds. The FCA wants to tackle the potential for investor harm that arises because the terms for dealing in units of some property funds are not aligned with the time that it takes to buy or sell the buildings that the funds invest in. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until November 3, 2020. The FCA intends to publish its final policy statement and rules as soon as possible in 2021.

The FCA's proposals seek to address the structural issues arising from the mismatch between holding illiquid assets and offering daily redemptions and the potential harm caused by the liquidity mismatch of U.K. authorized property funds that are non-UCITS retail schemes (known as NURS) that invest directly in property. The FCA is proposing to introduce a notice period of up to 180 days for these funds with the object of removing the potential for some investors to gain at the expense of others and to decrease the probability of liquidity runs on funds that lead to rapid sales of assets.

The FCA clarifies that the proposals in this consultation paper are only directly relevant to U.K.-authorized property funds that are NURS. The FCA is continuing its work with the Bank of England on illiquid assets in open-ended funds and will consult on additional solutions once the Financial Policy Committee has completed its work.

View the FCA's consultation paper (CP20/15).

The European Banking Authority has published a final report and final draft Implementing Technical Standards on disclosure and reporting of Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities and Total Loss Absorbing Capacity. Revisions to the EU's Bank Recovery & Resolution Directive and the Capital Requirements Regulation, which were finalized in 2019, implement the Financial Stability Board's TLAC requirements in the EU as well as amend the EU's existing MREL requirements. The TLAC requirements will apply to all EU global systemically important institutions and the revised MREL requirements to G-SIIs and other relevant firms. The final draft ITS will supplement the Pillar 3 disclosure requirements and supervisory reporting requirements on TLAC and MREL introduced by BRRD2 and CRR2.

The EBA has submitted the final draft ITS to the Commission for endorsement. The ITS on TLAC disclosures will apply immediately on entry into force. The MREL disclosure requirements will apply either from January 1, 2024 (the expiration date of relevant transitional periods) or from the later deadline set by the relevant resolution authority.

View the EBA's report, final draft ITS and related annexes.

View details of BRRD2.

View details of CRR2.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a consultation on proposed changes to the PRA rules to implement the fifth Capital Requirements Directive. CRD V came into force in July 2019 and EU Member States are required to implement the majority of its provisions by December 28, 2020. As this is prior to the end of the U.K.'s Brexit transition period, the U.K. must transpose those provisions of CRD V that are applicable before the end of the transition period into U.K. law under the terms of the EU-U.K. Withdrawal Agreement. Certain of those provisions (including those relating to capital buffers and holding company approval and supervision) must be implemented in the U.K. by HM Treasury. Those provisions are the subject of a separate consultation by HM Treasury consultation (published on July 16, 2020). HM Treasury has delegated responsibility for implementation of the remaining provisions to the PRA.

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The EU Single Resolution Board has published new guidance for Eurozone banks for which it is the resolution authority on: (i) operational continuity in resolution for Eurozone banks; and (ii) financial market infrastructure contingency plans. The guidance applies to "significant" Eurozone banks that are directly prudentially supervised by the European Central Bank and certain other cross-border groups, for whom resolution is their strategy.

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The U.K. Climate Financial Risk Forum has published its first guide providing practical recommendations for the financial services sector on how to respond to climate-related financial risks. The CFRF was established by the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority and is made up of industry representatives from the banking, insurance and asset management sectors, as well as others such as the London Stock Exchange Group and the Green Finance Institute. The CFRF aims to build capacity and share best practice across the finance industry in order to improve the financial services sector's response to the financial risks arising from climate change.

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HM Treasury has launched a call for evidence on the U.K.'s payments landscape, which is the first stage of the Payments Landscape Review announced in June 2019. The government is seeking input on the opportunities, gaps and risks that need to be addressed to support the U.K.'s position as being at the forefront of payments technology. Responses may be submitted until October 20, 2020. The government will publish a summary of the responses it receives and set out next steps for the review.

In the call for evidence, the government sets out the steps taken to achieve the aims that were published in 2012 to support the high-level strategy of ensuring that end user consumers and businesses benefit from the U.K. payment networks. Feedback is sought on the extent to which those aims have been achieved.

HM Treasury also discusses the main incentives for new payment systems and services, covering the New Payments Architecture, Faster Payments, the impact of Open Banking on how the systems are used, trends towards new service providers and payment chains and development in cross-border payments. The call for evidence also reflects on the wider work being undertaken on crypto-assets and stablecoins.

View the call for evidence on the U.K.'s payments landscape.

The European Central Bank Banking Division has published the results of the COVID-19 vulnerability analysis it conducted on Eurozone banks directly prudentially supervised under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The analysis was designed to establish how 86 Eurozone banks would be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and any vulnerabilities that may arise over a three-year horizon.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published an announcement on its approach to dividend payments and share buybacks by large U.K. banks subject to its prudential supervision, in light of COVID-19. The PRA states that it intends to assess firms' plans for distributions beyond 2020 in Q4 2020, taking into account banks' current and projected capital positions and the level of uncertainty around the economy, market conditions and capital trajectories at that time.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a Policy Statement on asset encumbrance, relevant to all PRA-regulated firms other than credit unions and insurance firms. The Policy Statement takes account of the PRA's consultation on its proposed expectations of how firms manage prudential risks associated with asset encumbrance. "Encumbered assets" are those that are used to secure, collateralize or credit-enhance a transaction and so cannot be freely transferred or liquidated by the pledging party. The PRA's consultation aimed, among other things, to ensure that firms: (i) put in place, and document, adequate risk management processes to monitor the potential impacts of asset incumbrance; (ii) appropriately consider the effects that increased asset encumbrance may have on the restoration of financial viability during a stress scenario; and (iii) ensure that asset encumbrance levels do not unduly impact the amount and cash value of assets that could be lent against in resolution.

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The European Central Bank has published an updated Recommendation on dividend distributions by significant institutions that are directly prudentially supervised by the ECB. The Recommendation states that, until January 1, 2021, no dividends should be paid out for the financial years 2019 and 2020, nor should share buy-backs aimed at remunerating shareholders take place. Banks that consider themselves legally required to pay out dividends should explain their underlying reasons to their joint supervisory team. Banks that plan to pay dividends to a non-Eurozone parent institution, parent financial holding company or parent mixed financial holding company should also discuss their intentions with their joint supervisory team.

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The European Commission has published a series of proposed legislative amendments to reduce the burden on financial institutions during the coronavirus pandemic in relation to their obligations under the EU Securitization Regulation, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the Prospectus Regulation. The package is referred to as the Capital Markets Recovery Package and is designed to make it easier for companies to raise capital and increase banks' capacity to finance the recovery.

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The European Central Bank has launched a consultation on proposals to publish compounded term rates based on the euro short-term rate (€STR). The consultation closes on September 11, 2020. The ECB is requesting feedback on specific characteristics of the compounded rate using €STR. Publication would take place on a daily basis shortly after the €STR publication. Published maturities could range from one week up to one year. A daily index, making it possible to compute compounded rates over non-standard periods, is also envisaged.
 
View the ECB's consultation paper on compounded term rates based on €STR.

The European Banking Authority has launched a consultation on its draft Regulatory Technical Standards for the methodology that EU resolution authorities should use to estimate the Pillar 2 and combined buffer requirements used to set the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities under the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by October 24, 2020. The draft RTS are intended to be finalized by December 2020. 

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The European Banking Authority has launched a consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards and draft Implementing Technical Standards on the impracticability of contractual recognition of write-down and conversion (i.e. bail-in) powers under the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by October 24, 2020.

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The European Central Bank has published a report on the results of its industry-wide assessment of Eurozone banks’ readiness for the benchmark interest rate reforms, which affect both EONIA and EURIBOR in the euro area. The purpose of the report is to share good practices that the ECB has identified in its horizontal assessment of the preparedness of Eurozone banks supervised under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. According to the ECB, banks need to improve their preparation for the reforms and escalate their implementation of risk mitigation measures. 

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The European Banking Authority has opened a consultation on proposed draft Regulatory Technical Standards on the determination of indirect exposures to clients of derivative and credit derivative contracts underlying a debt or equity instrument for large exposures purposes. The EU Capital Requirements Regulation, as amended by CRR 2, requires firms to add to the total exposures to a client the exposures arising from derivative contracts listed in Annex II of the CRR and credit derivative contracts, where the contract was not directly entered into with that client but the underlying debt or equity instrument was issued by that client. The proposed draft RTS set out how firms should determine exposures arising from derivative and credit derivative contracts not entered directly into with a client but whose underlying debt or equity instrument was issued by a client. The consultation closes on October 23, 2020.

View the EBA's consultation paper.

View details of CRR 2.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a consultation on simplified obligations for PRA-authorized banks, buildings societies, PRA-designated investment firms and their qualifying parent undertakings that are subject to the Recovery Plans Part of the PRA Rulebook. The consultation is primarily aimed at smaller and non-systemic firms. The PRA's consultation closes on October 23, 2020, after which it plans to publish a final Policy Statement on its proposals in the second half of 2020 or 2021.

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The European Banking Authority has published draft Regulatory Technical Standards on the requirements for the internal methodologies or external sources to be used for estimating default probabilities and losses given default for firms subject to the revised Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR 2). Responses to the consultation should be submitted by October 22, 2020.

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The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a consultation on proposed changes to its supervision of new and growing non-systemic U.K. banks. The consultation will primarily be relevant to banks in their first few years of authorization as a PRA deposit-taker and prospective banks interested in, or currently, applying for deposit taker authorization. The PRA notes that some new and growing banks may have sufficient experience and resources to quickly move to the standard expected of established banks. In deciding which banks should be subject to its new policy, the PRA would consider each banks' case on its merits and apply supervisory judgement. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by October 14, 2020. The PRA expects the amendments set out in the consultation to take effect in the first half of 2021.

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The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities has published a letter addressed to the European Commission informing it of the outcome of the ESAs’ review of the Regulatory Technical Standards (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/653) on the presentation, content, review and revision of a standardized “key information document” and the conditions for fulfilling the requirement to provide a KID. The RTS supplements the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation, which introduced a requirement for manufacturers of PRIIPs to produce a KID with the intention of improving retail investors’ understanding of the financial products they were purchasing.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a statement on coordination of supervisory action on issuers’ accounting for lease modifications in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Issuers have encountered challenges in accounting for the large number of lease modifications granted in many jurisdictions. The International Accounting Standards Board issued an amendment to IFRS 16 in May 2020 which provided practical relief for lessees.

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HM Treasury has released proposals to amend the U.K.’s financial promotion rules to provide increased consumer protection from misleading advertisements and a lack of suitable information. The U.K. financial promotion rules provide that a person may not communicate a financial promotion—an invitation or inducement to engage in an investment activity—unless the communication is exempt, the firm is authorized to carry on a regulated activity or the communication is approved by an authorized firm. Only financial promotions that are not real-time may be approved by an authorized person, and any approval must comply with the Financial Conduct Authority’s financial promotion rules. Any communication must be fair, clear and not misleading.

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HM Treasury has released proposals to amend the U.K.’s financial promotion rules to subject unregulated crypto-assets to the financial promotions regime. The Government proposals aim to enhance consumer protection, ensure market integrity and fight against financial crime. Responses to the consultation can be submitted until October 25, 2020. The Government is separately consulting on limiting the ability of authorized firms to approve financial promotions of unauthorized firms without consent from the Financial Conduct Authority.

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The U.K. Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, has announced the establishment of the independent FinTech Strategic Review, which was first referenced in the 2020 Budget. The Review, which will be led by Ron Kalifa OBE, former CEO of Worldpay, aims to identify priority areas for industry, policy makers and regulators to investigate to facilitate the ongoing success of the U.K. fintech sector.

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HM Treasury has published a policy statement setting out how it intends to change the Financial Conduct Authority’s cancellation of authorization process for firms that are no longer carrying out regulated activities under the FCA’s remit. The FCA’s regulatory scope has expanded since the provisions were set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. HM Treasury is concerned that the inability of the FCA to act quickly to cancel a firm’s authorization and remove details of the firms from the Financial Services register may lead to consumer harm. The Government is therefore planning to add a simpler process whereby the FCA can remove a firm’s authorization where it suspects that the firm is no longer undertaking regulated activities, such as where a firm fails to pay its fees or file a regulatory return. The existing procedure, which requires the FCA to demonstrate that a firm is failing to fulfil the threshold conditions, has failed to carry on a regulated activity or that it is advantageous for the FCA to use its powers to meet its operational objectives, will not be amended. A bill to make the changes will be laid when Parliamentary time allows.

View the policy statement on changes to the FCA’s cancellation of authorization process.

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Following the announcement of the extension for solo-regulated firms of the deadline for completion of firms' first assessments of the fitness and propriety of their Certified Persons from December 9, 2020, to March 31, 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on extending certain other implementation deadlines for the Certification Regime and Conduct Rules. The extension of the deadline for firms' first fitness and propriety assessments was agreed to by HM Treasury in light of the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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HM Treasury has published a statement on the application of the EU CRR Quick Fix package during the Brexit transitional period. The EU CRR Quick Fix package consists of a Regulation amending the Capital Requirements Regulation (and also amending the Regulation amending the CRR, known as CRR2) and it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 26, 2020. The Regulation forms part of the EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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TheCityUK, the U.K.'s industry body for financial and related professional services, has published a report entitled "Supporting UK Economic Recovery: Recapitalising Businesses Post COVID-19". The report sets out options for how large debt burdens incurred by small and medium-sized businesses as a result of COVID-19 can be managed. The report was prepared in consultation with financial and professional services firms, HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.

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HM Treasury has launched a consultation on the U.K.'s implementation of the EU amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive that were published in June 2019 (known as CRD V). EU Member States are required to implement the CRD V changes into their national regimes by December 28, 2020. As this is prior to the end of the U.K.'s Brexit transition period, the U.K must transpose those provisions of CRD V that are applicable before the end of the transition period into U.K. law under the terms of the EU-U.K. Withdrawal Agreement. HM Treasury's consultation relates only to those aspects of CRD V that must be implemented via legislation. The rest of CRD V will be implemented by the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority through updates to the PRA rules. Responses to HM Treasury's consultation should be submitted by August 19, 2020.

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The EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance has published a statement on five high-level principles for recovery and resilience. The statement is made in the context of the EU’s current discussions about recovery and resilience in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The TEG is proposing the five principles supported by recommendations for applying the EU’s Taxonomy to the EU’s recovery plan. The Taxonomy is set out in a recently adopted EU Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment. The Taxonomy is a classification system for sustainable activities that is designed to provide a shared understanding of the environmental sustainability of activities and investments.

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The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has published a report on enhancing cross-border payments and building blocks of a global roadmap. The report forms the second stage of the G20’s three-stage process to develop a roadmap that will enable countries to enhance their cross-border payments systems. The Financial Stability Board published the Stage 1 report in April 2020, which identified existing challenges in cross-border payments systems and specified key “frictions” in the cross-border payments system that contribute to these challenges. The third stage will involve coordination between the FSB and CPMI, together with other international organizations, to compile a roadmap for implementing the improvements. The FSB published a statement welcoming the CMPI report and confirmed that it intends to publish the Stage 3 report, which will be the roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments, in October.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a final report and final guidelines on securitization repository data completeness and consistency thresholds. The guidelines will apply to EU securitization repositories that are registered with and supervised by ESMA. From January 1, 2021, ESMA will consider the guidelines in its supervision of securitization repositories.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a consultation paper on proposed Guidelines on the calculation of positions in Securities Financing Transactions by trade repositories under the EU Securities Financing Transactions Regulation. The consultation closes on September 15, 2020. ESMA intends to finalize the Guidelines for publication in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021.

The proposed Guidelines aim to ensure consistency of position calculation by trade repositories to national regulators, including the time of calculations, the scope of the data used in calculations, the treatment of outliers, the recordkeeping of data and the calculation methodologies. They also aim to ensure a consistent methodology is used under SFTR and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation.

View the consultation paper.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published final revisions to the credit valuation adjustment risk framework under the Basel III standards. The updated international standard sets out the proposed regulatory capital treatment of CVA risk for derivatives and securities financing transactions. The CVA risk framework is designed to manage the risk of banks incurring mark-to-market losses from deterioration in the creditworthiness of counterparties in derivatives or SFTs. The framework was last revised in December 2017, partly to align it with the Basel Committee's market risk framework. The latest revisions include:
 

1. The reduction of certain risk weights;
2. The introduction of new index buckets and revised aggregation of CVA capital requirements;
3. An amendment to the scope of portfolios subject to CVA risk capital requirements. SFTs, where the CVA risks stemming from such positions are not material, are excluded and certain client-cleared derivatives are exempt; and
4. Revision of the overall calibration of the CVA risk framework, covering both the standardized and the basic approach.

View the updated CVA standard.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has opened a consultation on proposals for extending coverage of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for temporary high balances. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until July 23, 2020. The PRA is proposing to extend coverage under the FSCS for temporary high balances, from six months to 12 months from the date of the deposit or the first date the balance becomes legally transferrable to the depositor. The coverage would revert to six months from February 1, 2021. The proposal is made because of the impact of COVID-19 on consumers.

View the consultation paper.

The Financial Stability Board and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision have published a report to the G20 on supervisory issues associated with benchmark transition. The report focuses on the transition away from using LIBOR, but is relevant to other Interbank Offered Rates. The report presents the findings of a survey on the status of the move from using LIBOR, whose usage U.K. regulators are attempting to cease from the end of 2021, and sets out recommendations for relevant authorities and supervisors. 

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The European Commission has published a series of updated notices, including many addressed to firms operating in the financial services industry, on the actions that should be taken to prepare for the end of the transition period following the U.K.'s withdrawal from the EU on January 31, 2020. The transition period ends on December 31, 2020. The notices most relevant to the financial services industry relate to asset management, banking and payment services, credit ratings agencies, emissions trading systems and consumer protection and passenger rights. They update and replace the notices originally published in 2018.

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The European Commission has launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the EU Directive on the security of network and information systems across the Union (commonly known as the NIS Directive), which is designed to protect the security of EU network and information systems. The NIS Directive sets out, among other things, the parameters of national network and information security strategies to be implemented by Member States for providers of "essential services", which include credit institutions (as defined under the EU Capital Requirements Regulation) and financial market infrastructures.

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The European Central Bank, Banking Supervision division has published a guideline harmonizing the threshold for assessing the materiality of credit obligations past due for the purposes of default assessments under the EU Capital Requirements Regulation. CRR defines the circumstances in which an obligor under a credit obligation will be deemed to be in default. The materiality of the credit obligation is relevant for these purposes, and CRR grants competent authorities the discretion to determine, according to their view of a reasonable level of risk, the threshold against which materiality should be measured.

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The European Banking Authority has published a report on the implementation of certain prudential policies introduced by the EBA to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report focuses on two areas in particular: implementation issues around the EBA's Guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria on loan repayments and the criteria that institutions should follow for the identification and treatment of operational risk events and losses.

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The FATF has published the results of its 12-month review into the revised FATF standards published in June 2019, designed to help tackle money laundering and terrorist financing risks connected with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. The FATF's revised standards introduced a new Interpretive Note to Recommendation 15 on New Technologies, which clarified how countries should apply the FATF standards to virtual assets and VASPs, as well as updated guidance on a risk-based approach for virtual assets and VASPs. When the revisions were published, the FATF undertook to conduct a 12-month review of the changes.

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The European Commission has published a proposed Roadmap setting out details of its new Action Plan on the Capital Markets Union. The CMU is an EU initiative seeking to enhance and further integrate the capital markets of EU Member States. An action plan to develop the initiative was first adopted in 2015 and has been commented upon and updated since then, most recently in June 2020 when a High-Level forum on the CMU published a final report with 17 recommendations for advancing the CMU.

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