There has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union Commission Delegated Regulation 2015/97 which corrects an omission contained in Delegated Regulation 918/2012 as regards the notification of significant net short positions in sovereign debt.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) has published its work programme for 2015 and 2016. The work programme is structured around four key themes:
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) Principles for effective risk data aggregation and risk reporting (the Principles) were issued in January 2013 and are designed to strengthen risk data aggregation and risk reporting practices at banks so that risk management practices are improved.
The BCBS and the Financial Stability Board expect banks identified as global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) to comply with the Principles by 1 January 2016. The BCBS also strongly suggests that national supervisors apply the Principles to domestic systemically important banks three years after their designation as such.
As part of its continuing Expectations Gap work the FCA issued a call for examples last year asking firms to provide examples as to when they believed the regulator had applied rules retrospectively. The FCA has now published the feedback on its call for examples.
The FCA has published Finalised Guidance 15/1: Retail investment advice: Clarifying the boundaries and exploring the barriers to market development (FG15/1).
In FG15/1 the FCA focus on what is, and what is not, a personal recommendation in relation to retail investments, and what scope there is for firms to provide a range of services in relation to those products. The FCA clarifies the current regulatory landscape on personal recommendations in relation to retail investments and, in response to requests from the industry, brings together in one place the existing guidance that is available to firms from the FCA (particularly on simplified advice) and from the Committee of European Securities Regulators and the European Securities and Markets Authority. The FCA also provides example scenarios and in each case offers a view on whether it thinks the example is regulated advice or not.
The Presidency of the Council of the EU has published a new compromise text (dated 21 January 2015) on the draft Regulation on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts. With respect to the previous compromise text, additions and changes are denoted by bold underlining and deletions by strikethroughs.
The UK Government has published a response to its earlier consultation setting out proposals to create new criminal offences of energy market manipulation and insider trading. The proposed offences would give the UK energy regulators new powers to prosecute people suspected of abusing the wholesale electricity and gas markets.
In its response the UK Government confirms that it is going ahead with the implementation of the new criminal offences and states that draft Regulations were laid before Parliament on 22 January 2015. Subject to the will of Parliament, the draft Regulations are expected to come into force in April 2015.
On January 13, 2015, the US Supreme Court resolved a split among the Courts of Appeal on interpreting how a borrower may give notice to a lender of the borrower’s right to rescind a home mortgage. The Supreme Court ruled that a notification may be made in writing to the lender, without a need to
On January 16, 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, which is responsible for enforcement of the economic sanctions laws, published in the Federal Register new regulations following up on the President’s December 17, 2014, announcement of an easing of certain sanctions in place against Cuba. While most Cuban
A number of foreign exchange committees, including the London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee, have jointly published a statement in which they state that they are working together to consider how best to incorporate into their best practices documentation the relevant guidance recommended in the Financial Stability Board’s Foreign Exchange Benchmarks: Final Report (FSB Report). They also strongly recommend that all foreign exchange market participants review the FSB Report and ensure that these and other best practices published by the foreign exchange committees guide the behaviour of participants in foreign exchange markets.