Europe

The EU’s Whistleblowing Directive

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On November 26, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament (EP) and of the Council of October 23 (the “Directive“) on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law was published in the Official Journal.

Background

In light of recent information scandals including Cambridge Analytica, the Panama Papers and Luxleaks, the European Commission (EC) sought to introduce a unified measure granting protection to persons who report breaches of Union Law. These scandals have highlighted how crucial whislteblowers can be in uncovering unlawful activities, and the European Union (EU) has introduced the Directive to strengthen the enforcement of Union law and protect the freedom of expression of the whistleblower when interviewed on this topic, as explained by Maria Mollica, the EU Commission’s Policy Officer. While various Member States have addressed whistleblower protection in their own national legislation, the protection is often restricted to specific areas and thus the Directive attempts to unify and harmonize the approach taken by all Member States.

The Directive

Protection is afforded to whistleblowers to the extent they fall within the definition of “reporting person,” a natural person who reports or publicly discloses information on breaches acquired in the context of his or her work-related activities (Article 5(7)). In turn, this disclosure extents to information “including reasonable suspicions, about actual or potential breaches, which occurred or are very likely to occur in the organization in which the reporting person works or has worked or in another organization with which the reporting person is or was in contact through his or her work, and about attempts to conceal such breaches.” “Breaches” refers to any act or omission that is unlawful and relate to the Union or defeat the object or purpose of the rules in the Union (Article 5(1) and (2)).

It applies to businesses which employ at least 50 employees and they are required to implement internal channels to facilitate the reporting.

In terms of its scope, the Council of the European Union (EUCO) explains in a press release that “the new rules will cover areas such as public procurement, financial services, prevention of money laundering, public health, etc. For legal certainty, a list of all EU legislative instruments covered is included in an annex to the directive.” Further, regarding the protection awarded to reporting persons, it is stated that “the rules introduces safeguards to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation, such as being suspended, demoted and intimidated. Those assisting whistle-blowers, such as colleagues and relatives, are also protected. The directive also includes a list of support measures which will be put in place for whistleblowers.”

Next Steps

On November 26, the directive was published in the Official Journal and it will enter into force on December 16. Member States then have two years from that date to implement its terms and transpose its requirements into national legislation. Press Release. Legislative Text.

Securitization Regulation – Updates to the Questions and Answers by the European Securities and Markets Authority

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On November 15th, The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a new and updated version of its Questions and Answers in respect to the Securitization Regulation. 

The refreshed Questions and Answers provide direction on disclosure requirement in relation to ESMA’s draft technical standards, amongst other things. Questions and Answers.

 

Commission Delegated Regulation on Changing the Base Euro Amounts for Professional Indemnity Insurance

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The Regulation varies the base amounts in Euros (see Article 10(4) as well as (6)) of the Insurance Distribution Directive) by 4.03%, i.e. the percentile changes in the index of consumer prices (Europe).

It should be noted that the Commission Delegated Regulation is coming into force on December 12. However, the Regulation will be operational and applied from June 12, 2028. As such, MS have half a year after its entry into force to adapt national legislation. Furthermore, the six months gives MS time to enable and allow insurance (and reinsurance) intermediaries and their insurance providers time to implement the steps necessary to ensure compliance. Commission Delegated Regulation.

The Position on Equivalence Post Brexit

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Context and Background

On October 22, the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee (the Committee) published its first report of session 2019/20 (the Report). In section 10, this includes consideration of the UK’s access to the EU financial services markets after Brexit and, more specifically, the European Commission’s recent review of the EU law on equivalence.

The notion of equivalence, and its importance in this context, was explained by the European Commission in a Press Release dated July 29 where it stated that:

“EU equivalence has become a significant tool in recent years, fostering integration of global financial markets and cooperation with third-country authorities. The EU assesses the overall policy context and to what extent the regulatory regimes of a given third country achieves the same outcomes as its own rules. A positive equivalence decision, which is a unilateral measure by the Commission, allows EU authorities to rely on third-country rules and supervision, allowing market participants from third countries who are active in the EU to comply with only one set of rules.”

However, the Report notes that, in light of Brexit, the financial industry of the UK will face a number of hurdles in relation to the provision of services to EU based customers. It is explained that the “current, automatic right of market access for banks, insurers and investment firms based on their UK-issued licence (known as ‘passporting’) will automatically fall away when EU law ceases to apply to and in the UK.”

Consequences

Where these rights fall away and, to the extent EU law ceases to apply in the UK, UK firms and business providing these services will have to comply with local regulations to access any of the EU’s national markets. Alternatively, the UK will need to apply for equivalence. Concerning the European Commission’s recent review of the use of equivalency, the Report notes on the one hand that “the EU would be wary of granting the UK equivalence in the most economically-important sectors (especially investment services) without safeguards that it will not substantially diverge from EU regulations.” On the other, however, it is stated that by not seeking equivalency, the UK runs the risk of seeing economic activity shift from the UK to the EU if UK firms are no longer able to provide services to their EU customers.

Equivalency is and has been addressed in the Political Declarations as annexed to the Withdrawal Agreements. Boris Johnson has indicated that parts of this document are to be renegotiated and it remains to be seen, whether equivalency is one of these points.

In the Report, the Committee asks the Economic Secretary to clarify, by October 31, if the government is seeking any changes to the sections of the political declaration related to financial services. He is also asked to confirm if the government is considering seeking equivalence under EU law post-Brexit and, if so, which specific pieces of EU legislation the equivalence is being prioritized under. In anticipation of the response, the Committee cleared the Commission’s equivalence review from scrutiny. Report. Press Release.

EBA Publishes Opinion on Eligibility of Deposits, Coverage Level and Co-Operation Between Deposit Guarantee Schemes Under the DGSD

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On August 8, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published an opinion (EBA-Op-2019-10) on the eligibility of deposits, coverage level and co-operation between deposit guarantee schemes (DGS) under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD) (2014/49/EU).

The opinion outlines a number of general and specific proposals for the European Commission to consider when preparing its mandated report on the progress made towards implementing the DGSD and if the Commission prepares a proposal for a revised DGSD.

The opinion sets out the EBA’s proposals on a range of topics, including:

  • Home-host co-operation, and co-operation agreements between DGS
  • DGS’ co-operation with various stakeholders
  • Transfer of contributions
  • Coverage level
  • Current list of exclusions from eligibility and current provisions on eligibility

It includes a report that provides a detailed analysis of each topic, including the background, methodology, data sources, options to address the issues identified and conclusions.

EBA Publishes Feedback on Review of Single Rulebook Q&A

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On August 6, the EBA published feedback following a review of the use, usefulness and implementation of its single rulebook Q&A.

The review was carried out in the second half of 2018 using questionnaires addressed to competent authorities and selected industry representatives. It was limited to Q&A relating to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ((EU) No 575/2013) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) (2013/36/EU), which (at the time) accounted for about one third of final Q&A.

The EBA’s main findings include the following:

  • There are limited cases of non-application of Q&A identified by survey participants.
  • Competent authorities and institutions (to a slightly lesser extent) are, overall, satisfied with the utility of the single rulebook Q&A tool and the answers. However, they suggest various improvements relating to matters including response times, the search function and the presentation of the final answers.
  • There are similarities in terms of the measures taken by competent authorities at the institution level or by institutions internally to promote the Q&A tool and the use of answers.
  • Competent authorities use regular or ad hoc measures to encourage the use of the Q&A tool internally.

Based on its review, the EBA has provided non-prescriptive good practice guidance that institutions could adopt with respect to the use of Q&A (see chapter 4).

In addition, the EBA will consider the comments and suggestions received on the process, tool and answers, with a view to developing realistic and workable proposals for improvements. The EBA is also considering the reported cases of non-application in more detail to better understand the obstacles and issues in relation to the Q&A. It expects follow-up actions to be limited to informal exchanges and ad hoc queries to relevant competent authorities.

European Commission Requests the EIOPA Advise on PEPP Regulation Delegated Acts

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On August 5, the Council of the EU published a cover note, which attaches a call for advice from the European Commission to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) (dated July 31) on possible delegated acts concerning the Regulation on a Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP Regulation) ((EU) 2019/1238).

The Commission requests advice relating to:

  • The criteria and factors to determine when there is a significant PEPP saver protection concern under Article 64(9).
  • The specification of additional information for supervisory reporting under Article 40(9) of the PEPP Regulation.

The PEPP Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the EU on July 25.

The Commission requests the final version of the advice by August 14, 2020.

ESMA Will Not Renew Temporary Restriction on Marketing, Distributing and Selling CFDs to Retail Clients

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On July 31, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a press release which announced it would not renew the temporary restriction on the market, distribution or sale of contracts for difference (CFDs) to retail clients in the EU. Therefore, the measures in ESMA Decision (EU) 2049/679 automatically expired on July 31.

This decision was made because most national competent authorities have taken permanent national product intervention measures relating to CFDs, which are at least as stringent as ESMA’s temporary measures. However, it will continue to monitor activity relating to CFDs to determine whether other EU-wide measures may be needed. Release.

EBA Consults on Draft Guidelines on Determination of Weighted Average Maturity of Contractual Payments Due Under the Tranche of a Securitization Transaction

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On July 31, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a consultation paper on draft guidelines on the determination of the weighted average maturity (WAM) of the contractual payments due under the tranche of a securitization transaction. The guidelines are intended to provide guiding principles for institutions opting to use the WAM approach rather than final legacy maturity approach for calculating the risk-weighted exposure amounts of a securitization position under the methods that use the maturity of the tranche as a risk factor.

The main areas covered by the guidelines are:

  • Meaning of contractual payments due under the tranche.
  • Data and information requirements.
  • Methodologies for determining the contractual payments of the securitized exposures, and of the tranches, both for traditional and synthetic securitizations.
  • Implementation and use of the WAM model.

The EBA will hold a public consultation on the draft guidelines on September 3 and the deadline for responses is October 31.

The consultation paper can be found here.