Benchmark Regulation

On 11 August 2016, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation establishing a list of critical benchmarks and designating EURIBOR as a ‘critical benchmark’. Critical benchmarks are those with a total value of at least €500 billion, or a total value of at least €400 billion in circumstances where there are few if any substitutes and the termination of the benchmark would have a significant impact on the stability and integrity of the financial markets. These benchmarks are subject to enhanced governance and control requirements and are subject to oversight by a college of national supervisors, led by ESMA.

The Benchmark Regulation entered into force on 30 June 2016. It applies from January 2018, save for certain provisions regarding identified critical benchmarks, which are immediately applicable.

Consultations

The Central Bank’s consultations CP86 and CP105 have now closed.
View our more detailed articles on these consultations here and here.

Corporate Governance

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has launched a peer review on the implementation of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (the Principles). The Principles, originally developed in 1999 and updated in 2004 and 2015 respectively, relate to publically traded financial and non-financial companies and include chapters on ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework and the responsibilities of the board.

The purpose of the peer review is to assess how FSB member jurisdictions have applied these Principles to publicly listed, regulated financial institutions including banks, insurers and asset managers, and identify good practices as well as any gaps or areas of weakness. It will also inform the governance-related aspects of the FSB’s wider work on conduct for financial institutions. Feedback is invited from financial institutions, industry associations and other stakeholders until 9 September 2016. It is expected that the peer review report will be published in early 2017.

IOSCO Update

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published the following reports:

• Report on good practice for CIS fees and expenses:

On 25 August 2016, IOSCO published its final report on Good Practice for Fees and Expenses of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS). The report aims to identify common international examples of good practice that can be applied to CIS fees and expenses and sets out non-exhaustive examples of good practice in key areas including:

• Permitted or prohibited costs for a CIS
• Disclosure of fees and expenses to the investor, including use of electronic media
• Remuneration of the CIS operator
• Performance-related fees
• Transaction costs
• Hard and soft commissions on transactions
• Fees associated with CIS that invest in other funds
• Fee differentiation in multi-class CIS
• Changes to the fees and expenses of a CIS

View the report here

• Consultation on good practices for the termination of investment funds:

On 18 August 2016, IOSCO published a consultation on good practices for the voluntary termination of investment funds. In an effort to increase investor protection, the paper recommends 15 good practices for voluntary termination that are categorised as follows:

• Disclosure at time of Investment
• Decision to terminate
• Decision to merge
• During the termination process
• Specific types of investment funds

Comments are invited until 17 October 2016. View the consultation paper here

• Consultative report on the resilience and recovery of central counterparties (CCPs): Further guidance on the PFMI (principles for financial market infrastructures):

On 16 August 2016, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) together with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), published its report on the resilience and recovery of CCPs. The draft guidance is intended to provide a more detailed description of how CPMI-IOSCO expect CCPs to implement the PFMI to further improve their resilience and recovery planning. Comments are invited until 18 October 2016.

Contributed by Audrey Giles