Posts by: Shaun Malone

European Court of Auditors Special Report on Single Supervisory Mechanism

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On November 18, 2016, the European Court of Auditors published a report on the Single Supervisory Mechanism (“SSM“) (No 29/2016). The SSM was set up by the European Central Bank (“ECB“) to ensure the consistent application of prudential rules across the euro-zone countries. The report examines the setup and workings of the SSM and concludes that the complexity of the new system is a challenge, especially because it relies too heavily on the resources of national supervisors. This means that despite the ECB’s overall responsibility, the ECB has insufficient control over some important aspects of banking supervision.

The full report can be found here, but, in brief, specific concerns identified in the report relate to:

  • Under resourcing of internal audit for its work on the SSM, which is given less attention than other audit tasks.
  • Efforts to ensure transparency and accountability for the SSM towards the European Parliament and the general public are potentially weakened by the lack of a proper process for assessing and then reporting on supervisory effectiveness.
  • The independence of the ECB’s work relating to monetary policy and supervision functions.
  • Insufficient staffing levels and overdependence on staff appointed by national authorities leading to the ECB having insufficient control over the composition and skills of supervision and inspection teams.
  • Insufficient allocation of resources to joint off-site supervisory teams.
  • Inspection teams for on-site supervision include insufficient ECB staff. There are also concerns over missing guidance on prioritization for inspection requests, IT shortcomings and the qualifications of national competent authority on-site inspectors.

The report sets out a number of recommendations on how the SSM could be improved in relation to issues outlined above and explains that the ECB was not willing to share a number of documents needed for the audit to be completed. As a result, the report only reflects a partial assessment of whether the ECB is managing the SSM efficiently in the areas of governance, off-site supervision and on‑site inspections.

Council of the EU Announces Political Agreement on MMF Regulation

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On November 16, 2016, the Council of the EU published a press release announcing that its presidency has reached a provisional agreement with representatives of the European Parliament on the proposed Regulation on Money Market Funds (“MMF Regulation“). The press release can be read in full here.

The agreement reached at the final meeting of political negotiators covers the core issues concerning the regulation of MMFs, such as liquidity and diversification requirements, assets in which MMFs can invest (including the role of government debt) and transparency. It also provides for the European Commission to produce a report on the functioning of the MMF Regulation.

Although an overall agreement has been reached at the political level, a number of technical issues relating to the MMF Regulation are yet to be finalized. Once these are resolved, the agreement will then be submitted to the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) for endorsement on behalf of the Council. The Parliament and the Council will then be called on to adopt the MMF Regulation at first reading.

The MMF Regulation is designed to ensure the smooth operation of the short-term funding market. It follows efforts by the G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to strengthen the oversight and regulation of the shadow banking system.

European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulation on RTS on Additional Collateral Outflows

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On October 31, 2016, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing the Capital Requirements Regulation (“CRR“) (Regulation 575/2013) in relation to regulatory technical standards (“RTS“) for additional liquidity outflows corresponding to collateral needs that have resulted from the impact of an adverse market scenario on an institution’s derivatives transactions (C(2016) 6867 final).

In March 2014, the EBA submitted a draft RTS to the European Commission. These proposed to take flows of collateral into account on a gross basis, contrary to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (“BCBS“) net approach. However, the assessment of the draft RTS was then delayed. The EBA submitted an amended draft RTS to the Commission for endorsement in May 2016. The method of calculation used in the RTS is founded on the historical look‑back approach developed by the BCBS.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament must now consider the Delegated Regulation. If no objections are raised by either of them, the Delegated Regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU (“OJ“).

EBA Report on Appropriate Reference Point for Target Level of Resolution Financing Arrangements Under BRRD

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On October 31, 2016, the EBA published a report (“EBA-OP-2016-18“) on the appropriate point for the target level for resolution financing arrangements. The EBA produced the report under Article 102(4) of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (“BRRD“) (2014/59/EU).

In the report, dated October 28, 2016, the EBA recommends changing the basis from covered deposits to a total liabilities‑based measure and, in particular, “total liabilities excluding own funds less covered deposits.” Following a qualitative and quantitative assessment of various criteria, the EBA believes that this is the most appropriate target level basis for resolution financing arrangements. It considers this basis to be simple and transparent, and also consistent with the regulatory framework and calculation methodology for individual contributions.

A further recommendation in the report is that if the European Commission issues a legislative proposal on amending the target level basis for national resolution financing arrangements, it should also consider adjusting:

  • The percentage of the target level.
  • The target level basis for the single resolution fund (“SRF“).

The European Commission will consider the EBA’s recommendations, and decide whether to submit a legislative proposal to amend the target level basis for resolution financing arrangements, by December 31, 2016.

European Commission Establishes Expert Group on Sustainable Finance

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On October 28, 2016, the European Commission published a decision creating a high-level expert group (“HLEG“) on sustainable finance in the context of the capital markets union (“CMU“).

The group is to have the following tasks:

  • Submitting to the Commission a set of policy recommendations that set out the scale and dimensions of the challenges and opportunities that sustainable finance presents, and recommending a comprehensive program of reforms to the EU financial policy framework. The group is to explore operational steps that financial institutions and supervisors should take to protect the stability of the financial system from environmental, social and governance risks. The accompanying press release suggests that this policy road map is due to be completed by the end of 2017.
  • Engaging in structured communication and advocacy towards interested parties about its work on sustainable finance.

Up to 20 senior experts will make up the group. They will commence work in January 2017. A call for applications for the selection of members of the group has been launched and will close on November 25, 2016.

European Commission Report on Credit Rating Agencies Regulation

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On October 19, 2016, the European Commission published a report (COM(2016) 664 final) responding to reporting obligations set out in Regulation 1060/2009 (CRA Regulation).

The report:

  • Analyzes references to external credit ratings in EU legislation and in private contracts among parties in financial markets.
  • Assesses potential alternatives to external credit ratings that are currently used by market participants in the EU. The Commission is of the view that there are currently no feasible alternatives that could entirely replace external credit ratings.
  • Evaluates the impact of the CRA Regulation on governance and internal procedures of CRAs, in particular the prevention of conflict of interests and the use of alternative remuneration models.
  • Analyzes the provisions relating to structured finance instruments (SFIs) and their potential extension to other asset classes. The Commission does not think it is appropriate to extend CRA Regulation provisions to other financial products.
  • Assesses the impact and effectiveness of the CRA Regulation’s measures concerning competition in the credit rating industry. Given some provisions are still in the process of implementation, the Commission will continue monitoring the development of the market before considering the adoption of further measures. More generally, the Commission will seek to avoid and further reduce regulatory barriers to market entry.
  • Considers the feasibility of establishing a European CRA for the assessment of sovereign debt and a European credit rating foundation for all other credit ratings. The Commission considers there to be no need at present for a European CRA specialized in sovereign debt or for other credit ratings.

European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulation on RTS on Minimum Details of Data to Report to Trade Repositories

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On October 19, 2016, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 148/2013 supplementing EMIR (Regulation 648/2012) as regards regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the minimum details of the data to be reported to trade repositories (C(2016) 6624 final).

EMIR requires all counterparties and central counterparties (CCPs) to report the details of any OTC derivative contract they have concluded and of any modification or termination of the contract to a trade repository.

The Delegated Act updates existing standards that were published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ) in February 2013 (see Legal update, Delegated regulations on EMIR regulatory technical standards published in Official Journal). It reflects recent developments and experience gained in the area of trade reporting. The revised RTS aim to:

  • Introduce new fields and values to reflect market practice or other necessary regulatory requirements.
  • Clarify data fields, their description or both.
  • Adapt existing fields to the reporting logic prescribed in existing Q&As or reflect specific ways of populating them.

The Commission has also published an Annex, which sets out the counterparty data and common data details to report to trade repositories.

The next step is for the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to consider the Delegated Regulation. If neither of them objects to it, the Delegated Regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the OJ.

European Commission TTIP Advisory Group Report Considers Financial Services Under TTIP

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On October 17, 2016, the European Commission published a report documenting the meeting of the Commission’s Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Advisory Group on September 6, 2016.

Financial services are considered at section 4 of the report in the context of TTIP. The group notes that the EU tabled its offer on financial services market access in July 2016 (see Legal update, European Commission releases EU financial services offer for 14th round of TTIP negotiations: July 2016) . Discussions relating to this offer will continue during the next round of TTIP negotiations in October 2016.

The report also refers to the new joint EU-U.S. Financial Regulatory Forum, which was launched in July 2016 with the aim of making continued efforts to improve EU-U.S. regulatory coherence (see Legal update, EU and US establish joint financial regulatory forum ). The EU would like to see the work of the forum “linked into” the final TTIP agreement because, for the EU, the real issue for the financial services sector in the transatlantic context is regulatory transparency and cooperation. Diverging regulation may have negative implications on trade in financial services, financial stability, and consumer protection.

At the meeting, the group also discussed transparency (members expressed an interest in seeing documents related to financial services regulatory cooperation), domestic and international legislation (neither the U.S. nor the EU is seeking, through the forum, to revise the other’s legislation), the TTIP market access offer in financial services (prudential measures, such as capital requirements for banks, are not covered as these are out of scope) and measures to help consumers navigate transatlantic financial services (such as reduced charges for international transfers and simpler opening of bank accounts).

EBA Consults on Guidelines on Minimum Professional Indemnity Insurance under PSD2

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On September 22, 2016, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a consultation paper (EBA/CP/2016/12) on draft guidelines in relation to professional indemnity insurance (PII) and the criteria competent authorities should follow when stipulating the minimum monetary amount of the PII or comparable guarantees for undertakings that apply to provide payment initiation services or account information services under PSD2 (the Directive on payment services in the internal market ((EU) 2015/2366)). The EBA was mandated to produce the guidelines under Article 5(4) of PSD2. The consultation on the draft guidelines closes on November 30, 2016.

As well as setting out the proposed criteria, the EBA also:

  • Sets out with explanations its proposal to use a formula for the calculation of the minimum monetary amounts.
  • Provides details on indicators for the criteria set out in PSD2 along with the calculation method proposed for some of those indicators.
  • Provides circumstances in which the lowest tier, or default value, should be used.

The EBA also provided practical examples to assist in the calculation of the minimum amount of PII or comparable guarantee.

EBA Consults on Fee Terminology and Disclosure Documents under Payment Accounts Directive

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Pursuant to the Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU) (PAD), on September 22, 2016, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a consultation paper on draft technical standards on fee terminology and disclosure documents under the directive.

The EBA will be holding a public hearing at its premises on 21 November 2016 and the consultation process closes on December 22, 2016.

Following the consultation the EBA set out the following three draft technical standards:

  • Draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) setting out the standardized terminology for services that are common to at least a majority of member states (required under Article 3(4) of the PAD).
  • Draft implementing technical standards (ITS) relating to the standardization of presentation format on the fee information document (FID) and its common symbol (required under Article 4(6) of the PAD).
  • Draft ITS relating to a standardized presentation format of the statement of fees (SoF) and its common symbol (required under Article 5(4) of the PAD).

The draft technical standards aim to standardize eight terms for services that are to be used by payment service providers (PSPs), as well as providing consumer-friendly definitions of these terms in all EU official languages. The EBA identified the terminology based on the national provisional lists that member states have developed in line with the EBA’s March 2015 guidelines on standardized fee terminology (see Legal update, EBA final report and guidelines on national provisional lists of the most representative services linked to a payment account and subject to a fee).

PSPs will have to use the proposed standardized terminology in the pre-contractual FID and the post-contractual SoF disclosure documents.