The Joint Associations Committee on Retail Structured Products (JAC) has published a letter it has sent to the European Commission, the European Securities and Markets Associations, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Banking Authority requesting a postponement to the application of the regulation on key information documents (KIDs) for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs).

The JAC is of the view that the only viable option to safeguard the interests of retail investors and ensure properly functioning markets is to postpone the application of the PRIIPs Regulation. This is because the current timetable is no longer tenable and the industry will need sufficient time to review and comment on the technical standards. There is also concern that any “soft” approach to enforcement taken by regulators will not remove the risk of potential civil liability for manufacturers.

The JAC suggests that the PRIIPs Regulation should be delayed by one year to 3 January 2018. This will allow time for technical standards to be amended, agreed and consulted on. It will also allow for manufacturers and product distributors to implement systems updates in a co-ordinated way with changes required under the MiFID II Directive.

View Trade associations request PRIIPs Regulation postponement, 18 October 2016