On 20 October 2021, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1833 of 14 July 2021 supplementing MiFID II by specifying the criteria for establishing when an activity is to be considered to be ancillary to the main business at group level. The Delegated Regulation enters into … Continue Reading
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its peer review on the prudential assessment of qualifying holdings today. The EBA’s ad hoc Peer Review Committee’s conclusions included in this Report are based on competent authorities’ self-assessment of how they applied selected areas of the Joint ESAs Guidelines on the prudential assessment of the acquisition of qualifying … Continue Reading
On 23 July 2021, the European Commission published a consultation looking into the functioning of the EU securitisation framework. The intention to consult was stated in the Commission’s action plan on the Capital Markets Union published in September 2020. This in turn stems from Article 46 of the EU Securitisation Regulation, which requires the Commission … Continue Reading
On 23 July 2021, the European Commission published a letter (dated 8 July 2021) to the European Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and the Council of the EU, confirming that the RTS application date, under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ((EU) 2019/2088) (SFDR), has been delayed until 1 July 2022. This letter is the … Continue Reading
On 16 June 2021, the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) held a meeting in which it discussed the main legislative proposals under the European Commission (Commission) Digital Finance Strategy. During the discussion, ECON members considered the draft reports on the following legislative proposals: Proposal for a Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets … Continue Reading
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched a consultation on the Interbank Offered Rates (IBOR) transitions. Across markets, IBOR is being replaced by risk-free rates. The consultation considers adjustments to EIOPA’s risk-free rate (RFR) methodology and production, in light of If the EU Benchmark Regulation (which came into force in 2018) which … Continue Reading
On 12 April 2021 the Portuguese Presidency of the Council held a meeting to continue Member States’ discussions on the proposed regulation on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (DORA). The agenda for the meeting included discussion on proportionality in DORA as well as scope and timeline of specific regulatory technical standards (RTS) and … Continue Reading
On 14 April 2021, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) held a committee meeting in which it discussed the main legislative proposals under the European Commission’s (Commission) Digital Finance Strategy. During the discussion, the committee members considered the draft reports on the following legislative proposals: Proposal for a Regulation on Markets … Continue Reading
The Portuguese Presidency of the Council (“the Presidency”) will host on 24 February 2021 a meeting of the Working Party on Tax Questions, the main agenda item of which includes a discussion on the current state of play and on the way forward in respect of the Proposal for a Council Directive implementing enhanced cooperation … Continue Reading
On 16 December 2020 the Council of EU Ministers (the Council) agreed package of amendments to European financial services legislation – Capital Markets Recovery Package – including targeted amendments to MiFID II (so called MiFID “quick fix”). The key changes to the MiFID II regime include: Investor protection and research: agreed amendments include simplification of … Continue Reading
On 3 and 4 December 2020, the European Parliament (Parliament), the Council and the European Commission (Commission) held the first round of the trilogue negotiations on the July 2020 Capital Markets Recovery Package proposal for targeted amendments to MiFID II (the so called MiFID “quick fix” proposal, overview of which is included in our blog … Continue Reading
On 26 October 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) launched a public consultation[1] on sustainable corporate governance (the Consultation), soliciting responses from stakeholders on a possible EU sustainable corporate governance initiative with the aim of ensuring “that environmental and social interests are embedded in business strategies”. The Consultation will, according to the Commission, complement the … Continue Reading
On 27 October 2020, the European Securities and Markets Agency (ESMA) issued a public statement on the impact of Brexit on the continued application of MiFID II and MiFIR. The statement provided clarifications in respect of three aspects of MiFID II, namely: The ESMA opinions on third-country trading venues for the purpose of post trade … Continue Reading
On 19 October 2020 the European Commission published its Work Programme for 2021. The Work Programme, titled ‘A Union of vitality in a world of fragility’, is the second one published by the Von der Leyen Commission. The Work Programme provides an overview of the legislative priorities of the Commission for the upcoming year, as … Continue Reading
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published for consultation a draft Opinion on the supervision of the use of climate-change risk scenarios in the ORSA. The ORSA is an internal risk management assessment of all the various risks that might impact an insurer’s balance sheet and is a requirement under Solvency II. … Continue Reading
On 24 September 2020, the European Commission published its long-awaited Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan. The CMU Action Plan serves as a list of policies the Commission would like to introduce over the upcoming years, together with a timeline for the adoption of concrete legislative proposals. The main objective of the CMU is to … Continue Reading
The discussions on the European Commission proposal on the so-called “MiFID Quick Fix”, which also includes proposed amendments to the Prospectus Regulation and the Securitisation Regulation and corresponding changes to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) are progressing. Following an initial Council Working Group meeting on 3 September, EU Member States’ representatives reconvened on 17 September … Continue Reading
On 24 September 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a public consultation on the functioning of the MiFIR obligation to report transactions and reference data. The following day, on 25 September 2020, ESMA launched another public consultation from the MiFID II / MiFIR review series, this time focussing on the functioning of … Continue Reading
The outline of the anticipated EU legislative framework for markets in crypto-assets is becoming clearer and the European Commission is preparing to publish a legislative proposal by the end of September. The legislative initiative on markets with crypto-assets fall within the broader Commission policy initiative on digital finance, which will also include a legislative proposal … Continue Reading
On 3 September 2020, representatives of Member States met to discuss the Capital Markets Recovery Package. The package consists of amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), the so called MiFID “quick fix”, amendments to the Prospectus Regulation, amendments to the Securitisation Regulation and the corresponding changes to the Capital Requirements Regulation … Continue Reading
On 27 August, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement announcing that it intends to update the 2019 Guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMFR) to include a modification of the risk parameters to reflect recent market developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. ESMA has assessed whether … Continue Reading
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 supplementing the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (909/2014) (CSDR) with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) on settlement discipline, was due to come into force on 13 September. However, on 24 August 2020, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1212 was published in the OJ, which amends Delegated Regulation 2018/1229 to postpone its entry … Continue Reading
On 19 August 2020 the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its response to the European Commission’s consultation on its action plan for a comprehensive EU policy on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The European Commission’s action plan includes 6 “pillars” to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) framework, and … Continue Reading
On 19 August, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a letter (ESMA34-32-550) dated 18 August that it had sent to the European Commission, outlining areas it should consider during the forthcoming review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). ESMA’s letter includes recommendations for changes in 19 areas that ESMA and competent … Continue Reading
