Financial Services Regulatory Update – July 2022 Round Up

Individual Accountability Framework - SEAR

The Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 (the “Bill”) was published on 28 July 2022 (here). As anticipated, the Bill provides for:

• the creation of a senior executive accountability regime (“SEAR”);
• the introduction of new conduct standards for both regulated businesses and many of their personnel;
• an enhanced fitness and probity regime; and
• expansions to the powers of the Central Bank of Ireland (the “CBI”).

The CBI welcomed publication of the Bill and confirmed its intention to publicly consult on the implementation of the individual accountability framework upon enactment of the Bill (here).  

Our briefing (here) provides further detail on the Bill.

‘Dear CEO’ Letter to Direct Debit Originators

On 28 July 2022, the CBI published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to regulated firms who act as direct debit originators setting out the CBI’s consumer protection expectations as a result of the withdrawal of retail banks from the Irish market (here).

The CBI expects these firms to:

• proactively identify all affected customers;
• ensure that customer communications are effective in supporting customers to make informed decisions;
• put measures in place to ensure continuity of service for customers;
• support and put resources in place for vulnerable customers; and
• ensure resources are put in place to deal with potential spikes in customer queries.

Virtual Asset Service Providers

On 8 July 2022, the CBI published a new edition of its anti-money laundering bulletin (the “Bulletin”) which focuses on virtual asset service providers (“VASPs”) (here).

The Bulletin details:

• CBI observations on the assessment of registration applications to date;
• the legislative framework;
• CBI outreach and engagement;
• levy information;
• key issues with registrations received (for example, incomplete applications, inadequate ML/CFT risk control frameworks and firms seeking to rely on group policy and procedures which are not tailored for Irish regulatory requirements); and
• CBI expectations, including the requirement that VASPs have a physical presence located in Ireland.

Russian Restrictive Measures

On 21 July 2022, the Council adopted its “maintenance and alignment” package (here) and (here), which introduces new restrictive measures intended to tighten existing economic sanctions targeting Russia. The package:

• introduces a new prohibition on purchasing, importing, or transferring, directly or indirectly, gold, if it originates in Russia and has been exported from Russia into the EU or to any third country after;
• extends the list of controlled items, which may contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement or the development of its defence and security sector;
• expands the scope of the prohibition on accepting deposits to include deposits from legal persons, entities or bodies established in third countries and majority-owned by Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia;
• amends the prohibition on entering into any transactions with Russian public entities to ensure access to justice; and
• extends the exemption of transactions for agricultural products and transfer of oil to third countries to avoid any potential negative consequences for food and energy security around the world.

The Council also further expanded the list of restricted individuals and entities and strengthened reporting requirements, placing the burden of declaring assets on sanctioned people. These new measures also include expanding derogations for specified listed persons in the context of the import of agricultural and food products and to allow for the wind-down of operations with a designated bank.

On 7 July 2022, ESMA released a public statement on prospectus supervision in the context of Russian restrictive measures (here) to alert stakeholders to the European Commission (the “Commission”)’s FAQs (here) which outline the legal basis for a NCA refusing to approve a prospectus.

Case law – EBA Decision determined ‘unchallengeable’

On 21 July 2022, the Board of Appeal of the ESAs unanimously dismissed an appeal to a decision of the EBA (here). This case related to an appellant whose bank account with his local bank was abruptly terminated. The appellant filed a complaint with its local bank and with the national competent supervisory authority without success. As a follow up, the appellant filed a complaint with the EBA. Specifically, the appellant objected against the individual decision of the EBA not to start an investigation into the alleged breach or non-application of Union law regarding payment services in the EU internal market and access to payment accounts with basic features.

The Board of Appeal of the ESAs held that the EBA’s formal responsibilities are protecting the Single Rulebook, supervisory coordination and convergence and determined that the EBA’s decision was unchallengeable.

CSDR – Settlement Discipline

On 6 July 2022, the Commission adopted a draft Delegated Regulation amending regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) on settlement discipline to defer the application date of the mandatory buy-in regime under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (the “CSDR”) for three years from the date of entry into force of the Delegated Regulation (here). This deferral is intended to provide the Commission, the European Parliament (the “Parliament”) and the Council of the EU (the “Council”) with additional time to determine the best way forward to improve settlement efficiency.

The Council and the Parliament will now scrutinise the draft Delegated Regulation. If neither object, it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal and will apply directly in all EU member states.

In other CSDR news, ESMA published a consultation paper on the amendment of Article 19 of CSDR RTS on Settlement Discipline on 11 July 2022 (here). Article 19 of the CSDR RTS establishes a separate process for the collection and distribution of cash penalties for settlement fails relating to cleared transactions. ESMA proposes to remove this separate process and allow CSDs to run the entire collection and distribution process under Articles 16, 17 and 18 of the CSDR RTS. ESMA will consider the responses it receives to the consultation and finalise the amending RTS for submission to the Commission in Q4 2022.

Integration of Sustainability within UCITS/AIFMD/MiFID/IDD Frameworks

During the course of July, fund management companies, investment firms and (re)insurance undertakings were preparing for the application of sustainability-related delegated acts in early August.

Fund Management Companies

Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1270 imposes requirements on UCITS management companies and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1255 imposes requirements on alternative investment fund managers to take account of sustainability risks and sustainability factors in their operations. These delegated acts took effect on 1 August 2022 and our briefing (here) provides further detail on same.

Investment Firms

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1253 requires investment firms to integrate sustainability factors, risks and preferences within organisational requirements and operating conditions. This Delegated Regulation took effect on 2 August 2022.

Product governance sustainability-related requirements will apply later in 2022. These requirements are set out in the European Union (Markets in Financial Instruments) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 2022 which were published in Iris Oifigiúil on 19 July 2022 (here). These Regulations will take effect on 22 November 2022 and transpose Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1269 into Irish law. On 8 July 2022, ESMA issued a related consultation proposing draft guidelines on MiFID II product governance requirements which include proposals on how investment firms may comply with product governance sustainability requirements (here). This consultation closes on 7 October 2022 and ESMA expects to publish a final report in Q1 2023.

Our briefing (here) provides further detail on the delegated acts applicable to investment firms and the steps those firms can take to comply with same.

(Re)insurance Undertakings/Intermediaries

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1257 which amends the Insurance Distribution Directive ("IDD") regime to require insurance undertakings and distributors to integrate sustainability factors, risks and preferences into product governance requirements and into the rules on conduct of business and investment advice for insurance-based investment products (“IBIPs”) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1256 which requires the integration of sustainability risks in the governance of (re)insurance undertakings took effect on 2 August 2022.

On 20 July 2022, EIOPA published a guidance on integrating customer's sustainability preferences in the IDD suitability assessment (here). The guidance is not binding and is intended to provide national competent authorities (“NCAs”) and firms with a simple, user-friendly document to assist comply with requirements. 

SFDR RTS

On 25 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 was published in the Official Journal (here). This Delegated Regulation supplements the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) with regard to RTS for financial market participants’ sustainability disclosures. The RTS include requirements in respect of:

• the content and presentation of the information relating to the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ (“DNSH”) and the promotion of environmental or social characteristics and sustainable investment objectives in pre-contractual documents, on websites and in periodic reports;
• the content, methodologies and presentation of information relating to sustainability indicators and adverse sustainability impacts; and
• the exact content, methodology and presentation of the information to be disclosed to improve its quality and comparability.

This Delegated Regulation enters into force on 14 August 2022 and will apply from 1 January 2023.

Natural Gas and Nuclear – Delegated Act

On 15 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1214 (the “Taxonomy Complementary Climate Delegated Act”) was published in the Official Journal (here).

The Taxonomy Complementary Climate Delegated Act sets out the conditions under which nuclear and natural gas energy activities can be included in the list of economic activities covered by the Taxonomy Regulation. The Act also amends Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 to require large listed non-financial and financial companies to disclose the proportion of their activities linked to natural gas and nuclear energy. This Delegated Act applies from 1 January 2023.

SFDR: Voluntary Disclosure of PAI

On 28 July 2022, the Joint Committee of the ESAs published a report on the extent of voluntary disclosure of principal adverse impact (“PAI”) under the SFDR (here).

Preliminary conclusions are that the extent of compliance with voluntary disclosures under the SFDR varies significantly across jurisdictions. At this stage, the ESAs have identified that the disclosures for FMPs that do not take into account adverse impact of investment decisions on sustainability factors under Article 4(1)(b) of the SFDR are lacking in detail. The ESAs state that FMPs largely fail to provide clear reasons for why they do not do so, with insufficient information as to whether and when they intend to consider such adverse impacts. The ESAs note that NCAs have reported an overall low level of disclosure of the degree of alignment with the objective of the Paris agreement, with disclosures on the alignment being ‘vague and high level’.

Minimum Safeguards (Taxonomy Regulation)

On 11 July 2022, the Commission issued a call for feedback on the draft report by the Platform on Sustainable finance on minimum safeguards (here).

Minimum safeguards as set out in Article 18 of the Taxonomy Regulation require that companies implement procedures to comply with OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. The draft report on minimum safeguards aims to provide advice on how compliance with minimum safeguards could be assessed. The report identifies four core topics for which compliance with minimum safeguards should be defined. These are:

• human rights, including workers’ rights;
• bribery/corruption;
• taxation; and
• fair competition.

Feedback is requested prior to 6 September 2022.

Sustainable Finance Implementation Timeline

On 1 July 2022, ESMA published an updated sustainable finance implementation timeline (here). This timeline provides a useful reference point for key sustainability deadlines for SFDR, the Taxonomy Regulation, CSRD, MiFID, the IDD, UCITS and AIFMD

ECB Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter

On 26 July 2022, the President of the ECB officially launched its equality, diversity, and inclusion charter (here).

The charter is a public and voluntary commitment, open for signature by national central banks and NCAs within the European System of Central Banks and the Single Supervisory Mechanism ("SSM"). The charter lays out shared principles, common goals and concrete commitments to improve working culture on a system-wide level. Signatories commit to accelerating efforts to promote working environments based on respect and dignity free from any form of discrimination and confirm their common understanding that diversity and inclusion enhance performance, resilience and innovation.

Extension of Transitional Period

On 12 July 2022, the Commission adopted a Commission Delegated Regulation proposing an extension of the transitional period for continuing to provide crowdfunding services in accordance with national law from 10 November 2022 to 10 November 2023 (here).

The proposal results from a Commission assessment, based on ESMA advice, which concluded that an extension to the transition period was warranted to avoid the risk of disruptions for some large national markets.

The Council and the Parliament will now scrutinise the Delegated Regulation. The Delegated Regulation will enter into force on the day after its publication in the Official Journal and apply from 11 November 2022.

Our briefing (here) provides further detail on the Commission’s proposed extension.

Crowdfunding - RTS and ITS

On 13 July 2022, the Commission adopted Commission Delegated and Implementing Regulations made under the Regulation on European crowdfunding service providers for business (the “ECSPR”). These new legal acts cover:

• RTS specifying conflicts of interest requirements for crowdfunding service providers (here);
• RTS specifying the methodology for calculating default rates of loans offered on a crowdfunding platform (here);
• RTS specifying the measures and procedures for crowdfunding service providers' business continuity plan (here);
• implementing technical standards (“ITS”) for the application of the ECSPR with regard to data standards and formats, templates and procedures for reporting information on projects funded through crowdfunding platforms (here); 
• ITS for the application of the ECSPR with regard to standard forms, templates and procedures for the co-operation and exchange of information between competent authorities concerning European crowdfunding service providers for business (here); 
• RTS for the key investment information sheet (here); 
• RTS specifying the requirements, standard formats and procedures for complaint handling (here);
• RTS specifying the entry knowledge test and the simulation of the ability to bear loss for prospective non-sophisticated investors in crowdfunding projects (here); 
• ITS for the application of the ECSPR with regard to the standard forms, templates and procedures for the notifications of national marketing requirements applicable to crowdfunding service providers by competent authorities to ESMA (here);
• ITS for the application of the ECSPR with regard to standard forms, templates and procedures for the co-operation and exchange of information between competent authorities and ESMA in relation to European crowdfunding service providers for business (here);
• RTS for the exchange of information between competent authorities in relation to investigation, supervision and enforcement activities in relation to European crowdfunding service providers for business (here);
• RTS in respect of individual portfolio management of loans by crowdfunding service providers, specifying the elements of the method to assess credit risk, the information on each individual portfolio to be disclosed to investors, and the policies and procedures required in relation to contingency funds (here); and
• RTS in respect of requirements and arrangements for the application for authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider (here) and Annex (here).

The Council and the Parliament will now scrutinise the above legal acts which will enter into force 20 days after their publication in the Official Journal.

Crowdfunding – Statutory Instrument

On 26 July 2022, the European Union (Crowdfunding) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 were published (here). These Regulations amend the European Union (Crowdfunding) Regulations 2021 to replace the concept of "responsible persons" with "project owner" in Regulation 5 which sets out responsibility attaching to the key investment information sheet and to make ‘tidy-up’ amendments to Regulation 6 which outlines civil liability for information given in the key investment information sheet.

Code of Practice on Lending to Related Parties 2022

A new edition of the CBI’s code of practice on lending to related parties took effect on 1 July 2022 (here). The CBI’s code of practice covers requirements for credit institutions when granting or otherwise dealing with loans to related parties, reporting to the CBI, specific exemptions (for cases where a credit institution becomes a significant shareholder in a borrower, in respect of first home schemes and in respect of lending to natural connected persons)   

ECB Climate Risk Stress Tests

On 8 July 2022, the ECB published the results of its first climate risk stress test for banks (the “CST”) (here). The results of the CST showed that while banks have made considerable progress with respect to their climate stress-testing capabilities, substantial further progress is required in the years to come.

In the short term, the ECB states that the results of the CST will feed into the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process from a qualitative point of view, there will be no direct impact on capital through Pillar 2 guidance in 2022 and all participating banks received individual feedback which will need to be actioned.

EBA Stress Test

On 21 July 2022, the EBA announced the publication of a draft version of its 2023 EU-wide stress test methodology (here). 2023 EU-wide stress test will be carried out at the highest level of consolidation covering 76 banks, of which 63 are from the Euro Area.

The EBA states that the final methodology will be published by the end of 2022 and the EU-wide stress test will be launched in January 2023 with results expected to be published by the end of July 2023.

CRR Q&A

On 15 July 2022, the EBA updated its Single Rulebook Q&As on CRR/CRD to include new Q&As on:

• the size of all non-trading book positions that are subject to foreign exchange risk (here);
• inclusion of undertakings other than institutions, financial institutions or ancillary undertakings in prudential consolidation (here);
• deduction of pledged own shares from common equity tier 1 items (here);
• early repayment upon a common agreement between the issuer and the subscriber (here);
• implementation of Article 72b(2)(j) of the Capital Requirements Regulation and whether the contractual provisions governing liabilities are required to refer to the permission regime in order for the liabilities to qualify as eligible liabilities instruments (here);
• recognition of deducted items in calculation of own funds requirements for market risk (here);
• treatment of non-performing exposures underlying a collective investment undertaking (here);
• formula to be applied in case of a switch from multiple netting sets to a single netting set (here);
• definition of the parameter ρ_kl (option maturity) (here);
• CCR2 + FRTB: Delta intra bucket correlation for the risk class ‘foreign exchange risk’ (here);
• conditions for the usage of the net present value when calculating open positions in each currency and in gold (here);
• leverage exposure exclusion for guaranteed parts of export credit (here);
• cut-off date for the implementation of the adjustment for massive disposals (here); and
• applicability of the SME supporting factor for financing private purposes (here).

Bank Recovery and Resolution Q&A

On 29 July 2022, the EBA updated its Single Rulebook Q&A on BRRD adding two Q&A in respect of the guarantee for the purpose of the waiver from internal MREL requirements (here) and characteristics of the guarantee for the purposes of iMREL waiver (here).

RTS - Liquidity Contracts for SME Growth Market Issuers' Shares

On 13 July 2022, the Commission published a Commission Delegated Regulation with RTS setting out a template contract for liquidity contracts for the shares of issuers whose financial instruments are admitted to trading on an SME growth market under the Market Abuse Regulation (“MAR”) (here).

The Council and the Parliament will now scrutinise the Delegated Regulation.

ITS - insider Lists 

On 14 July 2022, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1210 was published in the Official Journal (here). This Implementing Regulation lays down ITS for the application of the MAR with regard to the format of insider lists and their updates. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States and shall enter into force on 4 August 2022 (the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal).

SFTR Q&A

On 19 July 2022, ESMA published an updated version of its Q&As on the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (“SFTR”) (here). The new Q&As relate to the construction of a trade state report and valuation and collateral on the last day of a securities financing transaction. 

LEI – Third Country Issuers

On 12 July 2022, ESMA published a third statement on the implementation of legal entity identifier (“LEI”) requirements for third–country issuers under the reporting regime set out in the SFTR (here). ESMA’s statement acknowledges the lack of global coverage of LEIs and confirms it expects that trade repositories would not reject SFT reports of securities without a third-country issuer LEI. ESMA confirms that it expects NCAs to continue not prioritising their supervisory actions in relation to reporting of LEIs of third-country issuers.

RTS – STS Notification Requirements

On 26 July 2022, the Commission published Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1301 in the Official Journal (here).

The new Delegated Regulation amends the RTS laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1226 setting out the information that securitisation parties are required to provide to ESMA in accordance with the simple, transparent and standardised (“STS”) notification requirements for traditional true sale securitisations laid down in the Securitisation Regulation. In particular, the amendments distinguish between those STS criteria for which a simple confirmation is sufficient and those for which a concise explanation or a detailed explanation is necessary.

Securitisation Regulation Q&A

On 15 July 2022, the EBA updated the Single Rulebook Q&As on the Securitisation Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/2402) to include a new Q&A on weighted average life calculation for credit card receivables without fixed repayment scheme (here).

Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Commencement)

On 12 July 2022, the Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2022 was published in Iris Oifigiúil (here). This Order appoints 8 July 2022 as the date on which the Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (other than s7 and s8) shall come into operation. This Order also appoints 1 October 2022 as the date on which s7 and s8 Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 shall come into operation.

Guidance - Intragroup Transactions and Exposures

On 4 July 2022, the CBI launched a public consultation (CP150) on a proposed guidance for (re)insurance undertakings on intragroup transactions and exposures (here). The proposed guidance focuses on intragroup assets, intragroup reinsurance and cash pooling/treasury function arrangements. The aim of the guidance is to clarify the CBI’s expectations with regard to these intragroup transactions and exposures.

Comments are invited on or before 23 September 2022.

MiFID Level 2 Legal Acts

In July, a number of Level 2 legal acts under MiFID were published in the Official Journal:

• On 15 July 2022, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1220 laying down ITS with regard to the format in which branches of third-country firms and competent authorities have to report the information referred to in Article 41(3) and (4) of the MiFID II Directive was published in the Official Journal (here); and
• On 26 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1302 (here), Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1299 (here) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1300 (here) were published in the Official Journal. These legal acts relate to commodity derivatives position limits, management controls and reporting under the MiFID II Directive and shall enter into force on 15 August 2022.

RTS - Disclosure of Investment Policy

On 6 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1159 supplementing the Investment Firms Regulation with regard to RTS on the disclosure of firms' investment policies was published in the Official Journal and entered into force on 26 July 2022 (here). The RTS specify uniform disclosure formats and associated instructions for the disclosure of information on investment policy in order to provide transparency to investors and the wider market participants.

MiFIR Data Reporting Q&As

On 19 July 2022, ESMA published an updated version of its Q&As on data reporting under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”) to include new Q&As on the reporting of emission allowances (here).

MiFID/MiFIR Q&As – Market Structures

On 15 July 2022, ESMA published an updated version of its Q&As on market structures under MiFID II/MiFIR (here). The updated Q&As include two new Q&As relating to algorithmic trading functionalities.

QIAIF Pre-Submission Process

On 1 July 2022, the CBI updated its pre-submission process for Qualifying Investor AIFs (“QIAIFs”) to remove pre-submission requirements for certain QIAIFs, including loan-originating QIAIFs (“L-QIAIFs”), life settlement QIAIFs and QIAIFs investing in non-Irish property assets (here). The CBI has now confirmed that these QIAIFs will no longer be subject to the CBI’s pre-submission process and will instead be able to avail of the CBI’s fast-track approval process which provides for approval of QIAIFs within 24 hours of submission of an application for authorisation.

Our briefing (here) provides further detail.

Notice of Intention – Money Market Fund Regulation

On 4 July 2022, the CBI published a notice of intention in relation to the application of ESMA guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Market Fund Regulation (here).  The ESMA guidelines establish common reference parameters for the stress test scenarios to be included in the stress tests conducted by money market funds or managers of MMFs and apply from 4 July 2022. 

The CBI notes that it plans to consult on the incorporation of a provision in the CBI UCITS Regulations and AIF Rulebook that all managers of money market funds adhere to the ESMA guidelines. In the interim period, the CBI expects full compliance with the ESMA guidelines from 4 July 2022.

ESMA UCITS Q&As and AIFMD Q&As

On 20 July 2022, ESMA published an updated version of its Q&As on the application of the UCITS Directive (here). ESMA’s updates relate to the reconciliation frequency for funds trading on a daily basis (Section X, Q&A no 7), reconciliations using tri-party collateral managers (Section X, Q&A no 8) and the responsibility to ensure compliance with rules governing marketing communications where marketing is performed by a third party distributor (Section XII, Q&A no 1).

ESMA also published an updated version of its AIFMD Q&As on the same date (here). These updates are similar in substance to those outlined in respect of the UCITS Q&A above. Updated Q&A cover reconciliations for funds trading on a daily basis and reconciliations where tri-party collateral managers are used (Section VI, Q&As no 15 and no 16) and the responsibility for compliance with requirements for marketing communications where marketing is performed by a third party distributor (Section VIII, Q&A no 4).

CBI Guidance - Fund Profile V2 Return

On 30 June 2022, the CBI published a guidance note to provide information and direction on the completion of the Fund Profile V2 return (here). Fund Profile V2 was introduced in Q2 2022 to replace the previous iteration of the Fund Profile return first introduced in 2018. The CBI states that the Fund Profile V2 return now replaces both the Fund Profile return and the Annual Investment Fund Sub-Fund Profile return. The CBI states this guidance is relevant for all Irish authorised investment funds and investment funds seeking authorisation in Ireland (and their respective governance bodies).

Selected Consultations, Discussion Papers, Speeches and Reports Published

Alternative Reference Rates Committee - LIBOR Legacy Playbook (here).

CBI – Guidance on E-money Institution Returns (here), (here) and (here) and Payment Institution Returns (here) and (here).

European Commission - Sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine (updates to FAQs) (here).

European Commission - Notification concerning Article 4(3) of Directive 2009/22/EC on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests, which codifies Directive 98/27/EC, concerning the entities qualified to bring an action under Article 2 of this Directive (here).

EBA/ESMA - Final report on joint Guidelines on Common Procedures and Methodologies for the SREP for Investment Firms under the IFD (here).

EBA - Consultation paper on the Supervisory Handbook on the Validation of Rating Systems under the Internal Ratings Based Approach (here). Deadline for comments is 28 October 2022.

EBA - Consultation paper on draft RTS on the homogeneity of the underlying exposures in STS securitisation under Articles 20(14), 24(21) and 26b(13) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/557 (here). Comments are requested by 28 October 2022.

EBA – EBA Opinion on Legacy Instruments: Outcome of its Implementation (here).

EBA - Decision (dated 24 June 2022) concerning the reporting of payment fraud data under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) (here).

EBA - Final Report with Guidelines on the Liquidity Requirements Exemption for Investment Firms (here).

EBA – Consultation paper on draft Guidelines (revised) on Methods for Calculating Contributions to Deposit Guarantee Schemes under Directive 2014/49/EU repealing and replacing Guidelines EBA/GL/2015/10 (here). Deadline for comments is 31 October 2022.

EBA - Report on Benchmarking Remuneration Practices in EU banks for the financial years 2019 and 2020, together with High Earners Data for 2020 (here).

EBA - Final Report on draft RTS relating to Pillar 2 Add-Ons for Investment Firms under the IFD (here).The draft RTS will be submitted to the Commission for endorsement before being published in the Official Journal.

EBA - Report on the use of Exemptions from Large Exposure Limits under the CRR (here).

ECB – Opinion on the proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 600/2014 as regards enhancing market data transparency, removing obstacles to the emergence of a consolidated tape, optimising trading obligations and prohibiting receiving payments for forwarding client orders (here).

EIOPA - Consultation paper on Supervisory Statement on Differential Pricing Practices in Non-Life Insurance Lines of Business (here). Comments are due by 7 October 2022.

EIOPA - Revised Guidelines on Contract Boundaries (here) and on Valuation of Technical Provisions (here) which shall apply from 1 January 2023.

EIOPA - Consultation paper on Supervisory Statement on the use of Governance arrangements in Third Countries to perform Functions or Activities (here). Comments are requested by 31 October 2022.

EIOPA - Staff paper covering the proposal for an Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (“IRRD”) (here).

EIOPA - Peer Review on Outsourcing (here).

European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) - Report setting out amendments to the proposed regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2015/760 as regards the scope of eligible assets and investments, the portfolio composition and diversification requirements, the borrowing of cash and other fund rules and as regards requirements pertaining to the authorisation, investment policies and operating conditions of European long-term investment funds (here).

ECON - A draft report on the Commission's proposal for a regulation amending the MiFIR as regards enhancing market data transparency, removing obstacles to the emergence of a consolidated tape, optimising the trading obligations and prohibiting receiving payments for forwarding client orders (here).

ESMA - Newsletter – Spotlight on Markets - no35 (here).

ESMA – Identification of Data Reporting Service Providers directly supervised by ESMA (here).

ESMA - Key Retail Risk Indicators for the EU single market (here).

ESMA - Call for Evidence addressed to Market Participants on the Practice of Pre-Hedging (here). The deadline for responses is 20 September 2022.

ESMA - Results of the 2021 Common Supervisory Action on MiFID II product governance requirements (here)

ESMA - Annual Report on Penalties and Measures issued under the UCITS Directive (2009/65/EC) (here) and Annual Report on Penalties and Measures issued under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/EU) (here).

ESMA - Annual Peer Review of EU CCP Supervision (here).

ESMA - Statement on applications by Third-Country Central Counterparties for Recognition under Article 25 of EMIR (here).

ESMA - Minutes of the Hybrid Conference of the Working Group (“WG”) on Euro Risk-Free Rates on 17 June 2022 (here). 

ESMA - Opinion on the Classification of Third–Country Counterparties in Weekly Position Reports under the MiFID II Directive (here).

ESMA - Consultation paper on Guidelines on Standard Forms, Formats and Templates to apply for permission to operate a DLT Market Infrastructure (here). Deadline for comments is 9 September 2022.

ESMA - Sanctions and Measures imposed under MiFID II in 2021 (here).

ESMA - 4th ESMA Stress Test Exercise for Central Counterparties (here).

ESMA – Correspondence with the International Sustainability Standards Board in respect of Exposure Drafts for IFRS sustainability disclosures (here).

ESMA - Consultation paper on the Clearing and Derivative Trading Obligations in view of the 2022 status of the Benchmark Transition (here). Deadline for comments is 30 September 2022.

ESMA - Consultation paper on the Review of the RTS on the Form and Content of an Application for Recognition under the Benchmarks Regulation (here). Deadline for comments is 9 September 2022.

ESMA - Final report on Revisions to its Guidelines and Recommendations on the scope of the CRA Regulation (here).

Financial Action Task Force - Partnering in the fight against Financial Crime. Data Protection, Technology and Private Sector Information Sharing (here).

International Organization of Securities Commissions - Cryptoasset Roadmap for 2022-2023 (here).

ISDA – ‘In Review’ -  A Compendium of Links to New Documents, Research Papers, Press Releases and Comment Letters published by ISDA in July 2022 (here).

Revenue Commissioners - Updated FAQs and Troubleshooting for UK Trustees and Advisors in respect of the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts (here)

UK Law Commission – Digital Assets: Consultation Paper (here). Deadline for comments is 4 November 2022.

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• Central Bank issues revised Client Asset Requirements (here)
• Freedom of Information – Time for Change? (here)
• Wide Ranging Changes to Whistle-blowing Laws Imminent (here)
• Brexit Latest: Enforcement of Judgments (here)
• Financial Services Regulatory Update – June 2022 Round Up (here)
• Compromise reached on AIFMD II: Five Key Developments (here)
• The Metaverse: HR Considerations (here)
• New Corporate Enforcement Authority (here)