When addressing the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament earlier this month, the chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Steven Maijoor, discussed the MiFID II and MiFIR implementation challenges that were faced by both firms and regulators and whether certain parts of the new regime would have to be
There has been published on the legislation.gov.uk website a transposition note for the Payment Accounts Directive (PAD). The transposition note provides a summary of the main requirements of the PAD and details of how individual articles will be transposed in the UK.
There has been published on the legislation.go.uk website the Payment Card Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (the Regulations), together with an explanatory memorandum and a final impact assessment.
The Regulations makes provision to support the implementation of the Regulation on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions (Interchange Fee Regulation). The Regulations appoints competent authorities to monitor and enforce compliance with the Interchange Fee Regulation and enables non-compliance to be penalised. It also exercises options available to the UK on some of the requirements of the Interchange Fee Regulation.
The Regulations will come into force on 9 December 2015.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a discussion paper on the validation and review of credit rating agencies’ (CRAs) methodologies.
The discussion paper requests views on how CRAs should demonstrate rating methodologies’ ‘discriminatory power’, ‘historical robustness’, ‘predictive power’ or, where there is limited quantitative evidence, that the methodologies are ‘sensible predictors of credit worthiness’. In addition, the discussion paper asks how CRAs should meet the requirement in both Articles 7 and 8 of a Commission Delegated Regulation on rating methodologies that the CRAs shall have ‘processes in place to ensure that systemic credit rating anomalies highlighted by back-testing are identified and are appropriately addressed’.
The deadline for comments on the discussion paper is 19 February 2016. ESMA will hold an open hearing on 25 January 2016.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an updated version of its protocol on the operation of the MiFID database.
The protocol describes the tasks and responsibilities of national competent authorities, and ESMA staff respectively, under Article 33 of the MiFID Implementing Regulation to make certain calculations regarding shares admitted to trading on a regulated market (and to some extent “liquid shares”). The protocol also contains practical guidance on how to conduct the calculations as well as the necessary technical instructions.
The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a new database of financial instruments which have been suspended or removed from trading including restoration details that national supervisory authorities have to notify under MiFID.
The database covers financial instruments admitted to trading in European regulated markets and displays a list of the current suspensions in these markets, but not suspensions linked to them.
The FCA has published Market Study 15/2.1: Asset management market study – Terms of Reference (MS15/2.1).
Following the publication of the FCA’s 2015/16 business plan, in which it announced its intention to undertake a market study into asset management, the FCA has published MS15/2.1 to understand whether competition is working effectively to enable investors to
The Takeover Panel (Panel) has censured certain legal and financial advisers in connection with the acquisition by Vallar plc (Vallar) of interests in two Indonesian coal mining companies.
Background/Facts
Vallar was the predecessor of Bumi plc, which subsequently became known as Asia Resource Minerals plc. As a result of connected transactions,
Overview
The High Court has upheld a claim to privilege by RBS in respect of certain documents prepared by external lawyers in the context of LIBOR investigations by regulators in various jurisdictions. Mr Justice Snowden ruled that: (i) factual updates provided to the Executive Steering Committee (ESG), a committee set up to oversee
On 16 November 2015, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) published its Supervision Outlook 2016 (Toezicht Vooruitblik 2016), in which it sets out its objectives for 2016. The DNB also describes developments in the financial services sector and how these may impact different financial institutions, for instance low-rate interest