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21 November 2019

This week in "Brussels"



 

We are focussed on the big themes for the next legislative period and are targeting the interaction of the driving forces of politics and economics as they force the required changes in over-arching financial regulation, thus promoting greatar financial integration in Europe. Naturally, these factors include ESG and Fin Tech. Details of these services are here

My video invitation to the 157th Brussels for Breakfast on 5th December is here. Some seats are available at the live meeting at CISI, and I would be delighted to hear suggestions for topics that should be covered. E-mail me: Graham@grahambishop.com

Interested in Continuing Professional Development (CPD)? Please click here for our CPD services

Articles 14 November 2019 - 21 November 2019

 

Banking Union


Bloomberg: Scholz plan gets mixed welcome from two key euro-area governors : German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz’s proposal to break the deadlock over European banking integration has received a cautious welcome from central bank governors in the euro’s two next most-important economies. View Article
Financial Times: How a pan-EU insolvency regime could advance banking union : The EU’s long journey towards banking union received a jolt this month when Germany’s finance minister, to general surprise, publicly envisaged a European deposit insurance scheme. Less attention was paid to another of Olaf Scholz’s proposals: his push to harmonise insolvency rules for all European banks, which could change Europe’s economy just as profoundly. View Article
BIS: Ignazio Visco: The Economic and Monetary Union - time to break the deadlock : Keynote address by Mr Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the OMFIF-Bank of Italy seminar "The future of the Euro area", in which he shares reflections on how sovereign and banking risks are being dealt with in Europe, and on the state of play of fiscal and capital markets unions. View Article
François Villeroy de Galhau - Bloomberg
François Villeroy de Galhau: The future of the European Economic and Monetary Union : Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Economy day 2019, in which he mentions the need to overcome four clichés in order to optimise the euro area and outlines three major challenges to strengthen euro area banks. View Article
Joachim Wuermeling: Welcome speech - Deutsche Bundesbank reception on the occasion of Euro Finance Week : Welcome speech by Prof Joachim Wuermeling, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, in which he focuses on the importance of the Basel standards, the global role of the German and continental financial centre, and the competition worldwide banks are facing from tech firms. View Article
LSE: Post-crisis banking in the euro area and Greece: How can a pan-European banking sector be created? : With the post-crisis macro-economic environment now deteriorating, Eleni Louri-Dendrinou and Petros Migiakis argue it is vital policymakers focus on the creation of a genuine pan-European banking sector. View Article
Accountancy Europe: An overview of KAMs in the European banking sector : Accountancy Europe has performed its second annual survey on the auditor’s reporting of key audit matters (KAMs) in the European banking sector since KAMs became required by EU law and international standards in 2017. View Article
European Commission: The sovereign-bank nexus in the euro area: financial and real channels : This paper reviews the direct (financial) channels and the indirect (real) channels through which banks and sovereigns interact, and that can give rise to feedback loops between the two sectors. While significant progress has been achieved in mitigating the direct channel of the loop in recent years, the indirect mechanisms of the loop stayed largely intact. View Article
Bruegel: Crisis management for euro-area banks in central Europe : Euro-area bank integration has decreased as post-financial crisis national rules require banks to hold more capital at home. It might be undermined further by bank resolution planning. Either a Single Resolution Board takes the lead for the entire banking group or independent local intervention schemes need to be developed for crisis resolution. View Article
FSB report highlights need to address remaining resolution gaps : The report provides an update on progress in implementing policy measures to enhance the resolvability of systemically important financial institutions and sets out plans for further work. View Article
ECB's Mersch: Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism – recent initiatives and the role of the ECB : Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, reflects on how might the European AML/CFT framework develop in the future. View Article
Margarita Delgado: The management of non-financial risk : Opening remarks by Margarita Delgado, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain, at the11th edition of the European SSM Roundtable, where she spoke about the management of non-financial risk - an issue which is always in the spotlight and, at the same time, is quite hard to tackle. View Article
ECB's De Guindos: Opportunities and challenges for the euro area financial sector : Opening speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the 22nd Euro Finance Week, in which he focuses on the health of euro area financial institutions and the opportunities and challenges they face in the current environment.  View Article
Christian Ossig named Chair of EBF Executive Committee : Christian Ossig, Chief Executive of the association of German banks Bankenverband, has been appointed as Chairman of the European Banking Federation’s Executive Committee for a two-year term from January 2020. View Article
ECB: Working paper: Interconnected banks and systemically important exposures : Authors showed that total contagion losses may be larger in a banking system with fully diversi?ed exposures than in the one with domestic exposures which is more concentrated. However, while a diversi?ed ?nancial system maximizes losses su?ered by banks, it insulates external creditors, such as retail depositors, which su?er less losses than in a domestically concentrated system of exposures. View Article

Capital Markets Union

Commission announces the composition of a High-Level Forum to take forward the Capital Markets Union : This group of experts will provide insight and support the Commission's goal to develop further a Capital Markets Union encompassing all Member States, so they can mobilise capital for businesses, offer better investment opportunities and boost economic growth in Europe.  View Article
Valdis Dombrovskis - ABC.net
Financial Times: EU to extend temporary access to UK clearing houses : Brussels is planning to extend temporary market access to UK clearing houses as it steps up preparations to prevent financial turmoil should Britain crash out of the EU. View Article
ESMA's Maijoor delivers keynote address at Euro Finance Week : The Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority took stock of achievements of MiFID II that we have seen so far and outlined possible areas of the rules package review deserving further analysis that will likely be considered up for amendment under the upcoming German EU Presidency. View Article
Financial Times: EU prepares tweak to MiFID market rules after industry backlash : Brussels is preparing to retune some of its Mifid II markets rules from next year, less than three years after implementation, following a wave of criticism from investors and regulators over the effectiveness of the far-reaching legislation. View Article
ISDA publishes results of consultation on final parameters for benchmark fallback adjustments : ISDA published a report that summarises responses to a consultation on the final parameters of adjustments that will apply to derivatives fallbacks for certain interbank offered rates (IBORs). View Article
BIS: Revisions to market risk disclosure requirements : Revisions to market risk disclosure requirements sets out adjustments to the Pillar 3 templates for the revised market risk framework to reflect the changes introduced in minimum capital requirements for market risk published in January 2019. View Article
IAIS adopts first global frameworks for supervision of internationally active insurance groups and mitigation of systemic risk : The IAIS adopted a comprehensive set of reforms that will enable effective cross-border supervision of insurance groups and contribute to global financial stability. These significant achievements were made possible by a shared commitment from the world’s insurance supervisors to the maintenance of fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders. View Article
IPE: ECJ ruling could further erode EU dividend tax obstacles : Pension funds seem to have inched closer to becoming exempt from paying dividend tax generated by their investments in the European Union, following a ruling by the European Court of Justice. View Article
EIOPA: Gabriel Bernardino’s keynote speech at the opening of EIOPA’s ninth annual conference : Insurance and Pensions: Leading the Future - keynote speech at the opening of EIOPA’s ninth annual conference by Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of the EIOPA, in which he touches on some of the most important issues facing insurance and pension industry, its citizens and its future. View Article
IPE: No UK input to IORP stress test as EIOPA flags ‘insufficient coverage’ : No UK data has been provided to EIOPA for the purpose of its 2019 stress test of European pension funds. EIOPA has been carrying out the stress tests every two years. The national supervisory authorities are responsible for co-ordinating the exercise in their member states. View Article
EIOPA publishes second annual European Insurance Overview : The Annual European Insurance Overview is published by EIOPA as an extension of its statistical services in order to provide an easy-to-use and accessible overview of the European (re)insurance sector.  View Article
Bank of England: Statement on the delegated regulation changes published by the European Commission : Firms are reminded that on Wednesday 1 January 2020 the deferred part of the delegated regulation changes published by the European Commission on Tuesday 18 June 2019 will come into effect which may impact the calculation of the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR). View Article
Commercial Risk Europe: Moody’s sets negative outlook for European insurers in 2020 : Ratings agency Moody’s has changed the outlook for the European insurance sector to negative from stable going into 2020, as pressure on profits and solvency in an environment of “ultra low” interest rates and rising environmental, social and governance risks mounts. View Article

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)

WBCSD: New guidance brings clarity on non-financial assurance : The WBCSD and the ICAEW launched guidance on non-financial assurance. The publication is designed to demystify common misconceptions about assurance and help users procure fit-for-purpose assurance services. View Article
AMF highlights the importance of successful non-financial communication for issuers : For its new report on the social and environmental responsibility of listed companies, AMF has conducted an analysis of non-financial statements of French companies. To assist them on the way towards sustainable economy, the regulator has set out the key challenges of this non-financial reporting. View Article
POLITICO: Europe’s investment bank sets pace on fossil fuel lending : The EIB pledge to end support for fossil fuel investments by 2021 sets a path for other multilateral lenders. The EIB is also the first to set a lending policy tied to the goals of the Paris Agreement — something other development banks have also pledged to do. View Article
BusinessEurope: Prosperity, People, Planet: European business priorities for the new EU cycle : BusinessEurope and all its members propose their priorities for the EU in a new political cycle in 2019-2024. Prosperity, people and the planet – these are the three pillars for a successful Union that should be a source of inspiration for future political decisions. View Article
IFAC: ISA 540 (Revised) Implementation Support: Audit Client Briefing : The purpose of the Briefing is to make chief financial officers, other senior management responsible for financial statement preparation, and staff directly involved in determining accounting estimates aware of matters to consider in preparing for the auditor’s requests pertaining to ISA 540 (Revised), Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures. View Article
Bruegel: Four pillars to make or break the European Green Deal : The European Green Deal should be conceived as a reallocation mechanism, fostering investment shifts and labour substitution in key economic sectors, while supporting the most vulnerable segments of society throughout the decarbonisation process.  View Article

Protecting Customers

BIS: Daniele Franco: Business conduct supervision in the financial sector : The protection of financial consumers is now considered essential for a sound financial system. Its importance grew in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but it is still a challenge to supervisors. View Article
IFAC and FERMA: GDPR and Corporate Governance : The ECIIA and the FERMA collaborated in a new publication entitled “GDPR and corporate governance: The Role of Internal Audit and Risk Management One Year After Implementation”. The paper focuses on the impacts of the GDPR on corporate governance practices in the year following its implementation.  View Article
IFAC: IAASB seeks comment on ED of conforming amendments to the international standards as a result of the revised IESBA Code : The IAASB is requesting public comments on its ED focused on conforming amendments to the International Standards as a result of the revised International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. View Article

Fin Tech Regulation

CSFI: It’s not magic: Weighing the risks of AI in financial services : This report explores some of the risks that could arise as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent in financial services – not just at the fringes, but at mainstream institutions that touch billions of people worldwide.  View Article
BIS: Welfare implications of digital financial innovation : Drawing on existing evidence, this contribution surveys the main mechanisms through which digital innovations in payments, credit, savings and insurance could impact on welfare. View Article
BIS: Report on open banking and application programming interfaces (APIs) : The Report on open banking and application programming interfaces (APIs) monitors the evolving trend of open banking observed in Basel Committee member jurisdictions and discusses the implications of these developments on banks and banking supervision.  View Article
BIS' Hernández de Cos: Financial technology: the 150-year revolution : Keynote speech by Pablo Hernández de Cos, Chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and Governor of the Bank of Spain, focused on the Committee's work on the growing role played by technology in finance, and its implications for banks and supervisors. View Article
BIS: Varying shades of red: how red team testing frameworks can enhance the cyber resilience of financial institutions : The paper aims to facilitate deeper understanding by financial sector authorities on different existing approaches that authorities have pursued in establishing red team testing frameworks. Red team tests are useful to identify potential weaknesses in financial institutions' cyber protection.  View Article
ECIIA: Auditing Cybersecurity within insurance firms : The ECIIA released a report on Auditing Cybersecurity within Insurance firms. It aims to set out the view from the ECIIA Insurance Committee and intends to provide guidance to Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) in the Insurance sector in regard to the audit of cybersecurity. View Article
Standardize, Digitize, Distribute: ISDA's Common Domain Model : ISDA CEO Scott O'Malia writes that, for technology to be effective and scalable in the derivatives market, we first need standardization. The ISDA Common Domain Model (CDM) is an important part of that. View Article

Friends' Standard Services

Video invitation to 157th B4B : Brussels for Breakfast (157): A round-table discussion on EU affairs with Graham Bishop (grahambishop.com) and Pablo Portugal (AFME). To be held on Thursday, 5th December, 2019, 8.30-10.00am (with support from the CISI.) View Article

Economic Policies Impacting EU Finance

ECB: Euro area financial stability environment remains challenging : Downside risks to global and euro area economic growth have increased and continue to create financial stability challenges, according to the November 2019 FSR of the ECB. Low interest rates should support economic activity in the euro area, but may also encourage excessive risk-taking by some non-bank financial institutions and highly leveraged non-financial corporations, and in some real estate markets. View Article
Autumn Fiscal Package: Commission adopts Opinions on euro area Draft Budgetary Plans : The European Commission has presented its Opinions on euro area Member States' 2020 Draft Budgetary Plans, taken steps under the Stability and Growth Pact and adopted the fourth Enhanced Surveillance Report for Greece. View Article
Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Budget) : The Council and the European Parliament reached agreement on the EU budget for 2020. View Article
EU makes it easier for companies to restructure within the single market : Following an agreement with the European Parliament earlier this year, the Council adopted a directive that facilitates EU companies' cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions. View Article
Main results - European Economic Area Council : The European Economic Area Council discussed issues related to the EEA agreement and cooperation between the EU and EEA EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). View Article
New Europe: Fury in Italy over Eurozone debt-restructuring reform : Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte aims to postpone the reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) at December’s EU summit, ANSA reported. View Article
Financial Times: Christine Lagarde must resist pressure on the ECB’s inflation target : The new president should ensure governments grasp the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy, writes Wolfgang Münchau. View Article
New Europe: Eurozone edging towards recession without policy response consensus : According to data released this week, the Eurozone hovers over the prospect of a recession, and there is no policy consensus over how to react.  View Article
New Europe: OECD says global growth hangs on Sino-American trade deal : Global growth hangs on a Sino-American trade deal, according to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. View Article
City AM: Leading German think tank supports minimum global tax rate plans : A leading German economic think tank has voiced its support for the OECD’s plans for an international minimum corporate tax rate. View Article
EFAMA position on EU taxonomy in view of trialogues : The European asset management industry supports the EU’s political objective to fight climate change and meet the Paris agreement goals. EFAMA recognises the urgency and is committed to facilitate the capital flows needed to finance a transition to a sustainable economy.  View Article
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: Building a Euro-Japanese alliance of hope : Faced with Chinese revisionism and the global retreat of the US, Europe lacks the geopolitical strength and unity to assume America’s mantle as defender of the rules-based multilateral order. Europe therefore needs friends like Japan, and it is now time to take the bilateral relationship up a gear. View Article

Broadening the International Role of the Euro

Financial Times: To save the euro, turn it into a digital stablecoin : A bond-backed currency would overcome problems created by incomplete monetary union, writes former chief economist of Deutsche Bank Thomas Mayer. View Article

EU27 Politics

Commercial Risk Europe: EU under threat without reform: Verhofstadt : The future of the European Union is at risk unless its institutions urgently reform, Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgium prime minister and EU parliament coordinator on Brexit, said. View Article
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
Isabel Schnabel Isabel Schnabel
@Isabel_Schnabel
Dear fellow German economists, if you are wondering what you can do for Europe: Please help to dispel the harmful & wrong narratives about the @ecb's monetary policy, floating around in political and media circles. These threaten the euro more than many other things.
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
<a href=FT Brussels" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931157406360449024/uendSDG1_normal.jpg" /> FT Brussels
@ftbrussels
Brexit talks: the brutal reckoning that awaits the UK on.ft.com/2O3XaKx
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
<a href=FT Brussels" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931157406360449024/uendSDG1_normal.jpg" /> FT Brussels
@ftbrussels
France and Italy warned by Brussels over high debt levels on.ft.com/35kDRT2
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
Michel Barnier Michel Barnier
@MichelBarnier
We must fight for a strong Europe in a world of many challenges. #Brexit is only 1 of them. Negotiations have often been difficult. But never has the EU lost sight of its core interests. Never have we let go of our unity and solidarity My speech in Zagreb europa.eu/!uh83wV pic.twitter.com/tprFyOcnw2
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE Graham Bishop #FBPE
@GrahamBishopcom
Want the next #BrusselsForBreakfast debate @CSFI1 to be tailored to your interest areas? You can now send me your suggestions for the next event on 5th December! Watch my video invitation here: ow.ly/Q7xS50xg7Lz #Brexit #BankingUnion #EuropeanCommission #fitnesscheck
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
<a href=FT Brussels" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/931157406360449024/uendSDG1_normal.jpg" /> FT Brussels
@ftbrussels
How a pan-EU insolvency regime could advance banking union on.ft.com/2XCF0D7
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
New Europe New Europe
@New_Europe
Commission launches infringement proceedings against UK dlvr.it/RJVkZj pic.twitter.com/SDu95ZnOLh
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
POLITICO Poll of Polls POLITICO Poll of Polls
@pollofpolls_EU
??New #pollofpolls alert for the UK: Conservative Party reaches the highest value in our POLITICO Poll of Polls since June 2018. Cons (ECR): 41% Lab (S&D): 29% LibDems (RE): 14% Brexit Party (NI): 5% ... More on politico.eu/pollofpolls. #GE2019 #GeneralElection pic.twitter.com/UjacDbNjnN
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
Financial Times Financial Times
@FT
EU set to offer derivatives industry extra year to prepare for Brexit on.ft.com/33Wcz5j
 
Graham Bishop #FBPE retweeted
City A.M. City A.M.
@CityAM
EU to extend temporary access to UK clearing houses beyond March dlvr.it/RJM6GP pic.twitter.com/nuEqQZZjEl
 

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