On March 6, the member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued updated guidance specifying that financial institutions’ business continuity plans should address the threat of a pandemic outbreak and its potential impact on the delivery of critical financial services. The guidance identifies actions that banks should take to minimize the potential adverse effects of a pandemic. FFIEC Guidance.
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).
On August 31, 2016, the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Financial Affairs published a webpage announcing the launch of an inquiry into Brexit and financial services in the UK. The Sub-Committee will begin its inquiry with two evidence sessions concentrating on the consequences of the referendum result for financial services and potential future arrangements.
The issues to be considered by the inquiry are as follows:
On July 14, 2016 the European Commission published a summary of responses to the public consultation launched on December 10, 2015 relating to the Green Paper on retail financial services prepared by the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
The summary report sets out the broad content of responses received. Firms highlighted a number of obstacles to offering services cross-border, including local financial regulation, tax laws, access to data and information, local network for insurance claims handling, and divergent national interpretations of the anti-money laundering directive (2015/849/EU).
The report states that work is ongoing in the Commission services on a follow-up initiative, which might take the form of an action plan.
So, the UK has voted to leave the EU. Everyone has their own opinion and we’ve all seen the news reports and various viewpoints but what does this result mean for you in practical terms and where do we go from here? Orrick’s EU-UK Working Group is ready and waiting to answer any questions you may have (see contact details at the end of this alert) and in the meantime, here’s our overview of the key issues for your business. READ MORE
On March 25, the Fed issued a report on the use of mobile phones to obtain financial services. Last year, 33 percent of all mobile phone users and 51 percent of smartphone users had used mobile banking. The most common mobile banking activities continue to be reviewing account balances, monitoring recent transactions and transferring money between accounts. Press Release. Report.
