The Eurozone Single Resolution Board has published an addendum to its 2018 policy statement on minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities. The addendum takes into account changes made as part of the EU’s “Banking Package”, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 7, 2019, in particular the EU’s implementation of the Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) standard by changes made under the revised Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR2). 

Read more.

The U.K. Prudential Regulatory Authority has launched a consultation on amending the frequency with which firms must submit reports using the PRA’s liquidity reporting template. The obligation to make a report using the "PRA 110" template comes into force on July 1, 2019 and obliges firms with total assets equal to or greater than €30bn to report details of their liquidity on a monthly basis, or, in the event of specific liquidity or market stress, on a weekly basis. 

Read more.

The Financial Stability Board has published a progress report summarizing FSB member jurisdictions’ progress in implementation of the G20’s recommended financial reforms. The G20’s program of financial reforms was launched in 2009 to mend the weaknesses that led to the global financial crisis. The FSB is the body responsible for delivering the G20’s proposed changes and its latest report sets out progress made since the FSB’s last report in November 2018, as well as areas where further work is required.

Read more.

The European Banking Authority has published its draft methodology, templates and template guidance for the 2020 EU-wide stress tests that will be carried out to assess EU banks' resilience to an adverse economic shock. The final methodology will be published by the end of 2019. The stress test will be launched in January 2020 and the results will be published by the end of July 2020.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority is seeking responses to its survey examining short-term pressure on corporations from the financial sector. The survey forms part of an investigation prompted by the European Commission into how short-termism in market practices may be inhibiting the EU’s progress towards a sustainable economy. ESMA’s survey is aimed at investors, issuers, management companies of undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities, self-managed UCITS investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and the trade associations of financial market participants. Responses to the questionnaire must be submitted by July 29, 2019.

Read more.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority have issued a joint statement regarding the use of "opportunistic strategies" in the credit derivatives markets, including but not limited to so-called "manufactured credit events." The agencies expressed concern that the use of such strategies could adversely affect the integrity and confidence of these markets, as well as markets more generally, due to issues related to securities, derivatives conduct and antifraud laws, along with public policy concerns.

Read more.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published an overview report on the Pillar 2 supervisory review process and on the different practices that regulators and legislators in Basel member jurisdictions have adopted in relation to it.

Read more.

Two Commission Delegated Regulations supplementing the EU Prospectus Regulation have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The first Regulation is on the format, content, scrutiny and approval of the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market. It will supplement the requirements in the Prospectus Regulation on: (i) the review, approval and filing of the universal registration document and any amendments; (ii) the format of the prospectus, the base prospectus and the final terms; (iii) the specific information to be included in a prospectus, the minimum information to be included in the universal registration document and the reduced information to be included under the simplified disclosure regime for secondary issuances; (iv) the reduced content, standardized format and the sequence of the EU Growth prospectus; (v) the reduced content and standardized format of the specific summary; and (vi) the review and approval of prospectuses by national regulators. The Regulation also repeals, from July 21, 2019, the existing Implementing Regulation under the existing Prospectus Directive on the form and content of prospectuses.

Read more.

The International Organization for Securities Commissions has published a report studying the effect of stressed market conditions on liquidity in corporate bond markets. The report arose out of concerns about liquidity in the corporate bond market in the years since the global financial crisis and, in particular, the possibility that a significant sell-off could trigger price volatility and temporarily depress prices. The report is based upon a review of existing studies of corporate bond markets, an examination of historic periods of market stress and discussions with industry stakeholders.

Read more.

The European Banking Authority has published an Opinion on market approaches to payment authentication that will be deemed compliant with the new rules on strong customer authentication coming into force later this year.

Read more.

The Financial Action Task Force has published the outcomes of its third and last Plenary meeting under the U.S. Presidency in Orlando on June 19-21, 2019. The FATF considered key issues such as strategic initiatives, mutual evaluations and the upcoming focus areas under the Chinese Presidency.

Read more.

An amending Commission Delegated Regulation to the existing Commission Delegated Regulation (Regulation 2017/565) on requirements for participants in SME growth markets has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Regulation 2017/565 supplements related provisions under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which establishes "SME growth markets" as a new type of trading venue for small and medium sized enterprises.

Read more.

The European Commission has published a report detailing: (i) the extent to which Member States have implemented the sanctions and monitoring sections of the EU Wire Transfer Regulation; and (ii) the particular sanctioning activities that national regulators have adopted under the Regulation. The Commission was obliged to provide the report to the European Parliament and Council of the European Union under the Wire Transfer Regulation. Although Member States are not obliged to take specific steps in response to the report's findings, the Commission concludes the report by stating its intention to continue to support Member States in their implementation of the Wire Transfer Regulation and reserves the right to take further measures to ensure the Regulation is correctly implemented by all Member States.

Read more.

Huw van Steenis, the Bank of England financier appointed by the BoE in 2018 to review the future of the U.K. financial system, has published his "Future of Finance" report, setting out a vision for the medium-term future of the U.K. financial system and the BoE's role in supporting that. The report was based on consultations with entrepreneurs, financiers, tech firms, global investors, consumer groups, charities, policymakers and business leaders across the U.K. and overseas. In response, the BoE has published a document which sets out the actions it intends to take to deal with the challenges and opportunities identified in the report.

Read more.

The U.K. FICC Markets Standards Board has published a Transparency Draft of its new Statement of Good Practice on Conflicts of Interest. The Statement aims to provide guidance for participants in the fixed income, currencies and commodities markets on ways to identify and manage risks arising from conflicts of interest in the FICC markets. The guidance is particularly targeted at firms operating in Europe and the conflicts that may arise from the sale and trading of publicly listed or over-the-counter securities or financial instruments. 

Read more.

An amending Commission Delegated Regulation to the existing Commission Delegated Regulation (Regulation 2017/1799), which specifies that third-country central banks may be exempted from certain transparency requirements under the Markets in Financial Infrastructure Regulation, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The amendment means that the People's Bank of China will be added to the list of counterparty institutions whose transactions will not be subject to trade transparency requirements under MiFIR to the extent that those transactions are in pursuit of monetary, foreign exchange or financial stability policy. The amending Delegated Regulation will come into force and apply directly across the EU from July 10, 2019.
 
View the amending Commission Delegated Regulation.
 
View Commission Delegated Regulation 2017/1799.

Central bankers and banking supervisors of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met this week to discuss a range of policy and supervisory initiatives. 

Read more.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published its first annual perimeter report, which (i) describes the boundaries of the FCA's regulatory oversight, (ii) considers challenges to the regulatory perimeter and (iii) sets out its aims for the future. The motivations behind the report include recent high profile controversies involving firms on the periphery of the FCA's regulatory perimeter (including London Capital & Finance which issued non-transferable bonds to consumers), innovations in technology that test the boundaries of the perimeter and the post-Brexit future of U.K. financial regulation.

Read more.

The European Banking Authority has launched a consultation on draft Guidelines on loan origination and monitoring. The consultation stems from the European Council's Action Plan on tackling non-performing loans in Europe. The purpose of the guidelines is to improve the processes by which institutions grant loans and monitor them thereafter, with the overarching goal of improving the financial stability of the EU financial system.

Read more.

The European Commission has published new, non-binding Guidelines on reporting climate-related information. The new Guidelines are supplementary to the guidelines issued by the Commission in 2017 on reporting non-financial information. The new Guidelines are intended to assist large public entities (with over 500 employees) to report climate-related information under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive. The new Guidelines incorporate the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's taskforce on climate-related financial disclosures, taking into account the EU's forthcoming taxonomy on sustainable activities. The new Guidelines include guidance on reporting of climate-related information related to business models, key performance indicators, risks and their management. Further guidelines for banks and insurance companies are set out in the annex.

Read more.

The U.K.'s Law Commission has published a report, entitled "Anti-money Laundering: the SARS Regime", setting out recommendations to improve the prevention, detection and prosecution of money laundering and terrorism financing in the U.K. The Law Commission began a review in 2017 into the U.K. anti-money laundering regime, focusing on the suspicious activity reporting (SAR) process and taking into account EU and U.K. anti-money laundering legislation and related legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. Following the consultation, the Commission has decided not to recommend amendments to the primary legislation, but instead that more detailed guidance should be issued. As a result, and for example, new exceptions from the reporting regime will not be proposed, as has been argued by some aspects of industry for reports on low-value transactions or reports on issues which are already in the public domain. The Commission is making several recommendations to improve the existing system, including:

1. The establishment of a new Advisory Board to supervise the development of guidance and to advise the Secretary of State on potential improvements to the regime, including in relation to emerging threats.
2. A new online SAR report that is easier to use with the aim of ensuring more consistent data is provided to the U.K. Financial Intelligence Unit through these reports.
3. Creating an obligation for the Government to issue statutory guidance on key legal concepts within the framework so as to improve certainty around the obligation to report suspicious activities.

View the report.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions has published the final report of its Cyber Task Force on cyber regulation. The report sets out how IOSCO member jurisdictions apply three recognized cyber frameworks - the CPMI-IOSCO Guidance on Cyber Resilience for Financial Market Infrastructures; the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity; and the International Organization for Standardization 27000 series standards. The Cyber Task Force does not propose that IOSCO issues any further guidance on this topic, as this could lead to duplication. The report is instead intended to be a resource for financial market regulators and firms, to raise awareness of existing cyber guidance and to encourage the adoption of good practices. The Cyber Task Force recommends that IOSCO's member jurisdictions use these standards to close any gaps in their existing cyber frameworks and that further work is undertaken to establish where those gaps are.

View the report.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 have been made and will come into force on July 9, 2019.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has postponed its review of the operation of transparency requirements laid out under Regulatory Technical Standards issued under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation. MiFIR's transparency regime obliges those providing investment services in the EU to disclose details of their transactions in bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances and derivatives both prior to, and following, trades. The detail of how participants should comply with this transparency regime is set out in the related delegated acts and technical standards published under MiFIR. Under the MiFIR RTS, ESMA is obliged to submit a report on the operation of thresholds for the liquidity and trade percentiles of certain financial instruments by July 30 each year. However, given the continuing uncertainties over Brexit, ESMA considers it would be inappropriate to perform the review by the usual deadline, particularly as the results of its review may lead to a tightening of the relevant rules. No new deadline for performing the review has yet been established.

View ESMA's letter.

View the transparency RTS.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a consultation paper explaining the FCA's proposed approach to minimum financial resources requirements and seeking feedback on the proposed clarifications to its stated approach. The consultation paper is relevant for all FCA solo-regulated firms subject to the FCAs's threshold conditions and/or Principles for Business. Firms should submit responses by September 13, 2019.

Read more.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a "Dear CEO" letter addressed to wealth management and stockbroking firms, identifying the key areas of focus for its two-year Wealth Management and Stockbroking supervision strategy. In the letter, the FCA identifies the four key types of harm for customers in this sector as: (i) reductions in savings and investments due to fraud, investment scams and inadequate client money or assets controls; (ii) loss of confidence in the industry due to mismanagement of conflicts of interest and market abuse; (iii) reductions in savings and investments due to substandard order handling procedures and execution processes; and (iv) inability to understand the costs of services provided by firms as a result of insufficient or inaccurate disclosure.

Read more.

The European Commission has published its fourth progress report on the reduction of non-performing loans in Europe. The report describes the impact of the EU's measures to tackle NPLs, which stem from the European Council's "Action Plan to Tackle NPLs in Europe". The Action Plan was designed to reduce risk in the European banking sector. As part of this project, the European Commission launched a package of legislative and non-legislative measures designed to address the build-up of non-performing loans seen in the years following the financial crisis.

Read more.

The U.K. Foreign Affairs Committee has published a critical report on the U.K. government's plans for the future of sanctions policy following Brexit. Currently, the U.K. must comply with economic and financial sanctions agreed at EU-level. Following the U.K.'s exit from the EU, it will regain autonomy over sanctions policy, but the Foreign Affairs Committee report reveals a lack of high-level thought on policy, a muddled position on key issues, including the implementation of EU sanctions into U.K. law following Brexit, the U.K.'s ability to impose "Magnitsky" sanctions (sanctions imposed upon individuals accused of human rights violations), and the extent to which the U.K.'s future sanctions policy should be coordinated with allies' policies, and a lack of cross-departmental government coordination in developing a coherent U.K. sanctions policy.

Read more.

The European Commission has published a report on progress made in Europe since the publication of "The Five Presidents' Report" of 2015, in which five of the EU's key figures set out their agenda for deepening the EU's Economic and Monetary Union. The report is published ahead of the Euro Summit on June 21, 2019, where EU leaders will meet to review progress in tackling the challenges faced by the EU.

Read more.

The European Commission has published a series of draft Implementing Decisions on the equivalence with the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation of the credit rating regimes of certain non-EU countries. The Implementing Decisions for Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Singapore and Australia repeal the existing equivalence decisions of the credit rating legislation in these countries, stripping these regimes of their equivalent status. The Implementing Decisions for Mexico, the US, Japan and Hong Kong confirm the equivalence of such countries' credit rating legislation.

Read more.

The Law Commission has been appointed to review potential legal issues with the U.K. intermediated securities system. Intermediated securities are shares and bonds held electronically through computerized credit entries.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a final report presenting the feedback to its November 2018 call for evidence, which sought to improve its understanding of "frequent batch" auction systems and their use in the circumvention of the "double volume cap" imposed under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation and transparency requirements under the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (or MiFID II). ESMA intends to produce further guidance on areas highlighted in the report, particularly focusing on price determination and pre-trade transparency, and will review the broader effects of the MiFID II transparency regime.

Read more.

HM Treasury has laid before Parliament a draft of the Financial Services (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019. The draft Regulations make amendments to certain elements of the EU exit legislation relating to financial services that has been developed by the U.K. government in preparation for the U.K.'s exit from the EU. The amendments will come into force on the later of: (i) the day after the day on which the Regulations are made; and (ii) immediately before exit day or, in the case of the amendment to the Capital Requirements Regulations, exit day. 

Read more.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a draft modification of its capital rules to correspond with changes made to the Capital Requirements Regulation II that will apply directly in Member States from June 27, 2019. Firms wishing to benefit from the modified rules should apply to the Authorisations Division of the PRA.

Read more.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has issued the Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019. This is U.K. secondary legislation intended to combat anti-competitive practices in the supply and acquisition of investment consultancy and fiduciary management services to and by the pension schemes they advise. The Order was made on June 10, 2019 and enters into force on December 10, 2019. It follows the CMA's consultation on a draft version of the Order that was published for review by interested parties on February 12, 2019. In the final Order, the CMA has endeavoured to resolve a number of the issues raised in response to the consultation. These include amending the Competitive Tender Process as originally drafted by imposing a less stringent "reasonable endeavours" obligation on trustees who are required to obtain bids from three or more unrelated Fiduciary Management Providers, and excluding in-house investment advice or fiduciary management functions from the scope of the Order.

Read more.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a report on its thematic review assessing money-laundering risks posed to capital markets. The review involved 19 participants including investment banks, recognised investment exchanges, trade bodies, a custodian bank, clearing and settlement houses, inter-dealer brokers and trading firms. The report sets out what the FCA found in its review, the AML risks that were identified and fictitious case studies identifying different AML scenarios that firms may use to inform their own procedures. The FCA expects firms to review their AML systems, taking this report into account. It is considering its supervisory approach, including the possibility of utilising data supplied under MiFID II to mitigate money-laundering risks.

Read more.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has published the final Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019. The Order imposes legal obligations on pension scheme trustees, investment consultancy firms and fiduciary management providers, implementing the CMA's remedies to its finding of an adverse effect on competition in both the investment consultancy and fiduciary management markets. On February 11, 2019, the CMA published a draft Order for comment, and the responses to the draft Order have been published alongside the Order.

Read more.

The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have published a Communiqué from the most recent G20 Summit held in Japan.

Read more.

The Financial Stability Board has published a consultation paper on the effects of post-financial crisis regulatory reforms on financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises. The FSB’s analysis suggests that there have not been material or persistent negative effects on SME financing, although some evidence suggests the more stringent Basel III capital requirements may have slowed the pace and tightened the conditions of SME lending at the least capitalized banks.

Read more.

The legislative amendments to the EU's Capital Requirements Regulation and the Capital Requirements Directive, widely referred to as "CRD5" or "CRR2", have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Subject to certain exceptions, the Regulation amending CRR will apply directly across the EU from June 28, 2021. EU Member States are required to transpose the Directive amending CRD into their national laws and to apply those provisions from December 29, 2020, subject to certain exceptions.

Read more.

The Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, Steven Maijoor, has requested clarity from the European Commission on the methodology for calculating the clearing threshold of a Financial Counterparty that is part of a non-financial group under the revised European Market Infrastructure Regulation (known as EMIR REFIT).

Read more.

A new Directive amending the EU's Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, widely referred to as "BRRD2", has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Read more.

The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has opened a consultation on resolution assessments and reporting amendments under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. The PRA is proposing to amend the prescribed responsibility for recovery plans and resolution packs that are a part of the SM&CR. Related changes are also being proposed to "Strengthening individual accountability in banking" (SS28/15) and "Senior Managers Regime form: Statement of Responsibilities". The changes to the prescribed responsibility will impact U.K. banks and building societies with £50 billion or more in retail deposits. The changes to the Statement of Responsibilities will affect all PRA-regulated firms. The consultation closes on August 7, 2019. The PRA intends to publish its final amendments in Q4 2019.

View the consultation paper.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Policy Statement setting out the final rules governing the FCA's authority to impose sanctions on persons for breaching requirements imposed under the U.K. Securitization Regulations 2018, which implements the EU Securitization Regulation. The Policy Statement also includes proposals on how the FCA will apply its existing supervisory and enforcement processes to securitization repositories (the bodies responsible for collecting and maintaining records of securitizations) after the U.K.'s exit from the EU.

Read more.

In response to a request from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued no-action relief that will permit swap dealers to make certain amendments to so-called "legacy swaps" without such swaps losing their legacy status for purposes of the CFTC's uncleared swap margin rule. Legacy swaps are exempt from the CFTC's uncleared swap margin rule because they were entered into prior to the relevant compliance date for that rule. The relief provides clarity that certain amendments to legacy swaps will not bring them within scope of the rule.

The relief will permit swap dealers to continue to treat the following as legacy swaps:

• legacy swaps that are amended in an immaterial manner (defined as amendments that would not affect the economic obligations of the parties or the valuation of the swap);
• a swap resulting from the exercise of a swaption that is itself a legacy swap;
• the remaining portion of a swap following a partial termination of such legacy swap;
• the remaining portion of a swap following a partial novation of such legacy swap; and
• new swaps resulting from a multilateral compression exercise consisting solely of legacy swaps.

View the No-Action letter.

The Financial Stability Board has published a report on the use of decentralized financial technologies and the implications these may have for financial stability, regulation and governance. The report has been delivered to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of the G20 meeting on June 8-9, 2019.

Read more.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions have published a joint discussion paper on central counterparty default management auctions. Comments should be provided by August 9, 2019.

Read more.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has issued a press release announcing that Baroness Zahida Manzoor CBE has been appointed Chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Baroness Manzoor will take up the role on August 2, 2019 and takes over from Sir Nicholas Montagu, who has held the role for more than seven years. Baroness Manzoor has spent over 20 years at board level within large organizations and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2013. Between March 2018 and May 2019, she served as House of Lords Government Whip and Minister.

View the press release.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a report summarizing the preparations that firms are making for the market transition away from LIBOR to alternative risk-free rates by the end of 2021. The report is based on feedback from firms in response to the joint Dear CEO letter sent to major banks and insurers by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, which sought information on the action firms were taking to prepare for the phase-out of LIBOR. The report also includes suggestions for how firms might enhance their preparations.

Read more.

The Growth and Emerging Markets Committee, a committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions that aims to promote the development and efficiency of emerging securities and futures markets, has published a series of recommendations on the development of sustainable finance in emerging markets and the role that securities regulators play in this arena. The report also contains an overview of sustainability-related regulatory initiatives in emerging markets and market trends arising in the sustainability sector.

Read more.