On 6 July 2021, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a report that gives a preliminary assessment of the impact of the implemented Basel reforms during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a broader review of their effectiveness. Overall, the report finds that the increased quality and higher levels of capital and liquidity in … Continue Reading
On 29 January 2021, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its third COVID-19 implementation report which provides clarifications on questions that have been raised with it. The implementation report includes questions and answers on the guidelines on moratoria which is accompanied by a summary overview of the general payment moratoria in place in the EU. … Continue Reading
On 21 to 23 October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its final quarterly plenary of 2020 as a virtual event. The discussions over three days mostly focussed on Strategic Initiatives reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and progress made on country specific processes. The FATF also provided an update on their strategic focus … Continue Reading
Financial institutions have had to deal with two challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first challenge is financial – how to address and mitigate the sharp drop in the value of financial assets or loss of liquidity. The second challenge is operational – how to address the risk of failure of resources … Continue Reading
On 17 September 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that euro area banks under its direct supervision may exclude certain central bank exposures from the leverage ratio. The announcement comes after the Governing Council of the ECB confirmed that there are exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Banks under ECB supervision can benefit … 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
On 10 August 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final report concerning draft implementing technical standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting by institutions under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), accommodating the CRR 2 and the CRR quick fix. The CRR quick fix introduces amendments to regulatory requirements that have an impact on the supervisory … Continue Reading
On 10 August 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its final report concerning guidelines on supervisory reporting and disclosure requirements in compliance with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ‘quick fix’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines comprise a set of instructions covering the impact of the CRR ‘quick fix’ on the following … Continue Reading
On 10 August 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final report concerning amendments to its existing guidelines (EBA/GL/2018/01) on uniform disclosures under Article 473a of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) on the transitional period for mitigating the impact of the introduction of IFRS9 on own funds to ensure compliance with the CRR ‘quick … Continue Reading
On 7 August 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published frequently asked questions relating to the implementation of its Guidelines on reporting and disclosure of exposures subject to measures applied in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The technical clarifications provided by the EBA will assist supervisors and credit institutions in the implementation of the guidelines. … Continue Reading
On 28 July 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published the aggregate results of its vulnerability analysis of banks directly supervised within the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The exercise assessed how the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would impact 86 euro area banks and aimed to identify potential vulnerabilities within the banking sector over … Continue Reading
On 28 July 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) extended its recommendation that banks not pay dividends nor buy back shares until January 2021. The ECB has also asked banks to be “extremely moderate” with regard to variable remuneration. The ECB also encourages banks to use their capital and liquidity buffers for lending purposes and … Continue Reading
On 7 July 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report providing clarification on certain issues concerning the application of the prudential framework that have been raised as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically the report is intended to provide clarity on the implementation of the EBA guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria … Continue Reading
On 26 June 2020, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ), a Regulation making targeted amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the revised Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR2) (CRR “quick fix”). The “quick fix” legislation has been intended to help credit institutions to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak … Continue Reading
On 25 June 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published new Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on public disclosures by institutions and revised final draft ITS on supervisory reporting that implements changes introduced in the revised Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR2) and the Prudential Backstop Regulation. The publication of the two ITS is a major step forward … Continue Reading
On 25 June 2020, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ), Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/866 of 28 May 2020 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1010 supplementing the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) with regard to regulatory technical standards for prudent valuation under Article 105(14) of the CRR. The Commission Delegated Regulation was … Continue Reading
On 8 June 2020, the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) agreed to a second set of actions to address the challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. These macro-prudential actions refer to the five priority areas previously identified by the ESRB: Implications for the financial system of guarantee schemes and other fiscal … Continue Reading
On 2 June 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published guidelines on reporting and disclosure of exposures subject to measures applied in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The guidelines cover the following: (1) reporting requirements to monitor the use of payment moratoria and the evolution of the credit quality of the exposures subject to such … Continue Reading
On 28 May 2020, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation (plus Annex) amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/101 of 26 October 2015 supplementing the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) for prudent valuation under Article 105(14) of the CRR. The Delegated Act introduces a temporary adjustment aimed at mitigating increases … Continue Reading
An update from Brussels Over the coming weeks, partners and members of our financial services team will be sharing with clients and contacts a series of video diaries setting out their views on the latest developments in respect of COVID 19 impacts in the various areas of financial services. In video diary number 16, Anna … Continue Reading
On 6 May 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a public statement reminding firms of their conduct of business obligations under MiFID II. ESMA has issued this public statement after several Member State national competent authorities noticed a significant increase in the number of investment accounts opened by retail clients and a … Continue Reading
On 4 May 2020, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published joint draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to amend the Delegated Regulation on the risk mitigation techniques for non-centrally cleared over-the-counter derivatives (bilateral margining), under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation, to incorporate a one-year deferral of the two implementation phases of the bilateral margining requirements. On … Continue Reading
Amid emergency initiatives aimed at coping with the Covid-19 emergency, Italy has taken two steps aimed at easing the modalities for concluding contracts online, both of which are particularly significant for the financial services sector. It is worth reminding that banking and financial contracts under Italian law are valid only if entered in writing. Furthermore, … Continue Reading
On 9 April 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a public statement concerning: UCITS management companies, self-managed UCITS investment companies, authorised alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs), non-EU AIFMs marketing alternative investment funds (AIFs) pursuant to Article 42 of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, EuVECA managers and EuSEF managers. The purpose of … Continue Reading
