European Commission (EC)

European Commission Publishes Consultation Paper on Capital Markets Union (CMU) Mid-Term Review

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The European Commission published a paper (dated January 20, 2017) requesting feedback and general input on revisions to the CMU action plan. The original action plan was published in September 2015 and set out the Commission’s proposals for the establishment of the CMU.

The European Commission wishes to publish a mid-term review of the action plan by June 2017, with the review being set up to look at any progress in implementing the CMU action plan and amend accordingly, dependent on responses.

The deadline for such responses is March 17, 2017, upon which the Commission will evaluate all responses and produce a feedback assessment.

The Commission has also promised to hold discussions with relevant stakeholders, notably small and medium enterprises and other institutional investors.

The Commission seeks views from any relevant stakeholders on the action plan – in particular, it seeks views on any relevant revisions to the same on actions that could, inter alia:

  • Assist in allowing companies to raise capital on public markets (and enter those markets)
  • Create sustainable investment and long-term infrastructure, as well as foster retail investment and cross-border investment

Solidify the capacity of banks to support the economy

European Commission Report on Benchmarking of Diversity Practices Under CRD IV

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On December 8, 2016, the European Commission published a report on benchmarking of diversity practices under the CRD IV Directive (2013/36/EC).

Article 161(5) of the CRD IV Directive requires the Commission to review and report to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the results reached under the diversity benchmarking, including the appropriateness of benchmarking diversity practices.

The Commission discusses the EBA’s report and reaches the conclusion that:

  1. It would not be useful at this stage to envisage putting forward a legislative proposal to amend the provisions of the CRD IV Directive diversity provisions, given that it is satisfied with the added value of the benchmarking diversity practices;
  2. There is still considerable room for improvement both in having diversity policies in place and achieving greater diversity of the management bodies of institutions;
  3. The majority of the sampled institutions were not compliant with the CRD IV Directive requirement of putting in place a policy promoting the diversity of their management bodies; and
  4. The majority of the institutions that had set a gender diversity target had not yet met it or had not set a timeline for doing so (or both).

European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulation on RTS for the Application of Position Limits to Commodity Derivatives

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On December 1, 2016, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing the MiFID II Directive (2014/65/EU) in relation to regulatory standards (“RTS“) for the application of position limits to commodity derivatives (2016) 4362 final).

The MiFID II Directive requires that competent authorities, in line with ESMA’s methodology, establish and apply position limits on the size of a net position a person can hold in certain commodity derivatives and economically equivalent OTC (EEOTC) contracts. Article 57(3) and (12) of the MiFID II Directive empowers ESMA to develop RTS providing the basis of the methodology for the calculation and application of the position limits.

In September 2015, ESMA submitted the draft RTS to the Commission. The Commission then notified ESMA in April 2016 that it intended to endorse the RTS, provided that a number of changes were made. ESMA submitted revised draft RTS to the Commission in May 2016. The Commission explains that the amended provisions create a more stringent regime for liquid contracts whose underlying product is food for human consumption. Further, it caps the upper position for new and illiquid contracts to 40%, but stipulates that upper position limits of up to 50% can be imposed on a temporary basis. The proposed methodology also highlights how competent authorities are to consider volatility when setting position limits.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament are now to consider the Delegated Regulation. Should neither of them object, it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).

Implementing Regulation on Information for Calculation of Technical Provisions and Basic Own Funds for Q4 2016 Reporting Under Solvency II Adopted by European Parliament

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On November 11, 2016, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation laying down information for the calculation of technical provisions and basic own funds for reporting with reference dates from September 30 until December 30, 2016, in accordance with the Solvency II Directive (2009/138/EC).

EIOPA provided the Commission with the technical information related to end of September 2016 market data on October 11, 2016, which was published in accordance with Article 77E(1) of Solvency II.

The aim is that by setting out technical information on relevant risk-free interest rate term structures, fundamental spreads for the calculation of the matching adjustment and volatility adjustments for every reference date, conditions for the calculation of technical provisions and basic own funds will be uniform across all insurance and reinsurance undertakings for the purposes of Solvency II.

The annexes to the Implementing Regulation set out the technical information to be used by reinsurance and insurance undertakings for the reference dates from September 30 to December 30, 2016, are as follows:

  • Annex I: the relevant risk-free rate term structures.
  • Annex II: the fundamental spreads for the calculation of the matching adjustment.
  • Annex III: the volatility adjustments for each relevant national market.

Econ Vote on Resolution on Basel III Revisions

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On November 10, 2016, the European Parliament published a press release on a vote taken by its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON“) in relation to revisions to Basel III, which are currently under consideration by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS“).

The text of the resolution has not been published, yet the release states that it calls on the European Central Bank (“ECB”), the European Commission (“EC”) and the EBA to engage in the BCBS’s work and report to the ECON on their progress. Furthermore, the press release states that the revisions should:

  • strengthen the overall financial provision of European banks but should not significantly increase overall capital requirements;
  • respect the principle of proportionality and the important role played by banks in financing the European economy; and
  • consider and mitigate the differences between jurisdictions and, at the same time, avoid penalizing the EU banking model.

The resolution will be considered by the European Parliament in its plenary session between November 21, 2016 and November 24, 2016.

The package of reforms to Basel III is expected by the end of 2016 and will cover issues such as internal ratings-based (“IRB“) approaches and operational risk as well as the standardized approach for credit risk.

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 Issues Call for Advice on Own Fund Requirements for Market Risk

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On April 22, 2016, the European Banking Authority published a call for advice it had received from the European Commission regarding revisions to the own fund requirement for market risk as part of the CRR review.

The call for advice sets out that the EC is undertaking a review of the Capital Requirements Regulation and is considering the impact of implementing the agreed Basel Committee on Banking Supervision framework detailed in the document “Minimum capital requirements for market risk.” The EC notes that to date there has been no EU-specific assessment of the convenience and impact of updating these rules in the ways proposed by the BCBS.

European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulation Amending Solvency II Delegated Regulation on Treatment of infrastructure and ELTIF Investments

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The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation amending the Solvency II Delegated Regulation (EU 2015(35)) concerning the calculation of regulatory capital requirements for several categories of assets held by insurance and reinsurance undertakings, in particular infrastructure investments and investments in European long-term investment funds (ELTIFs).

The aim of the amending Regulation is to remove specific regulatory impediments to the financing of long-term investment projects by insurers. The revisions made to the Solvency II Delegated Regulation relate to issues including:

  • Infrastructure investments. The amending Regulation introduces a specific treatment in the solvency capital requirements for infrastructure investments (being investments in special purpose entities that own, finance, develop or operate infrastructure assets that provide or support essential public services).
  • Investments in ELTIFs. The amending Regulation extends to ELTIFs the provisions in the Solvency II Delegated Regulation concerning the treatment of European venture capital funds and European social entrepreneurship funds.

The amending Regulation also contains provisions concerning the treatment of equities traded on multilateral trading facilities and the scope of the equity transitional measure in Article 173 of the Solvency II Delegated Regulation. The next step will be for the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to consider the amending Regulation. The Commission intends the amendments made by the amending Regulation to be in place as soon as possible.