October 2020: The month ahead in financial services regulatory developments…

29 September 2020

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for October 2020.

1 Oct	C19: Deadline for responses to FCA consultation (CP20/3) on climate-related and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by listed issuers, and clarification of existing disclosure obligations C19: Deadline for responses to FCA consultation (CP20/5) on standard listing of open-ended investment companies (OEICs) Deadline for responses to FCA consultation (CP20/8) on marketing speculative illiquid securities (including speculative mini-bonds) to retail investors C19: Deadline for responses to FCA Call for Input (CfI) on Open Finance C19: End of FCA supervisory flexibility over 10% depreciation notifications C19: Extended FCA deadline to allow customers to respond to firms’ communications about persistent credit card debt Remaining FCA rules and guidance on defined benefit (DB) pension transfers come into effect C19: Deadline for responses to operational resilience consultations by FCA, PRA and Bank of England (BoE): FCA CP19/32 on impact tolerances for important business services; PRA CP29/19 on impact tolerances for important business services and CP30/19 on outsourcing and third-party risk management; and BoE CPs on Central Securities Depositaries (CSDs), Central Counterparties (CCPs), and Recognised Payment System Operators (RPSOs) and Specified Service Providers (SSPs). Changes to Mortgage Lenders & Administrators Return (MLAR) reporting requirements come into effect Money & Pensions Service (MaPS) progress update expected on pensions dashboard programme The Pensions Regulator (TPR): Trustees of relevant schemes must publish new statement of investment principles ‘implementation statement’ The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) expected to submit final Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) covering governance, methodology and critical benchmarks under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) to Commission by this date Deadline for responses to European Banking Authority (EBA) questionnaire qualitative questions on the cost of compliance with supervisory reporting requirements C19: European Central Bank (ECB) recommends that banks do not pay dividends for 2019/2020 until this date at the earliest Deadline for responses to ECB consultation on guide to supervisory approach to consolidation for single supervisory mechanism (SSM) banks Commission to adopt new Delegated Regulation amending list of high-risk third countries under the Fourth Money Laundering Directive (4MLD) Deadline for responses to International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) consultation (CR01/2020) on updates to its principles for regulated entities that outsource tasks to service providers C19: Deadline for implementation of latest iteration of Equator Principles (EP4)
2 Oct	Deadline for responses to Commission consultation on review of the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive) Deadline for responses to Commission consultation on Electronic Identification Regulation (eIDAS) Deadline for responses to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) second discussion paper on methodological principles of insurance stress testing Deadline for responses to Commission consultation on an EU Green Bond Standard (GBS) Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) 3^rd Plenary Meeting, virtual
3 Oct	Firms concluding transactions on third country trading venues to make transactions post-trade transparent via an approved publication agreement (APA) (unless covered by ESMA opinion)
6 Oct	Public hearing regarding EBA consultation on RTS regarding determination of indirect exposures arising from (credit) derivative contracts underlying a debt or equity instrument for large exposures purposes Deadline for responses to Commission consultation on a New Consumer Agenda, including consumer credit Deadline for responses to Commission proposed Regulation amending the BMR as regards exemption of certain third country foreign exchange (forex) benchmarks and the designation of replacement benchmarks for certain benchmarks in cessation
6 – 9 Oct	7th Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Green Finance and Investment, virtual
7 Oct	Deadline for responses on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation on improving climate risk governance and reporting by occupational pensions schemes
10 Oct	Deadline for cryptoasset businesses to submit complete applications for registration to FCA, to be registered by 10 January 2021
12 Oct	Extended deadline for feedback to FCA, BoE and PRA joint consultation (CP20/11) on revising the complaints against the regulators scheme Reporting obligation under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) for all other financial counterparties including Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and Alternative Investment Funds and third-country entities takes effect Central Bank of Hungary and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Central European Green Finance Conference 2020, virtual G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting, virtual
13 Oct	Deadline for responses to PRA consultation (CP7/20) on updates to Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) forms
14 Oct	Deadline for responses to PRA consultation (CP9/20) on its approach to new and growing banks Deadline for responses to HM Treasury (HMT) consultation on an Economic Crime Levy Deadline for responses to Commission inception impact assessment on the review of the European Long Term Investment Funds (ELTIF) Regulation G20 Finance and Central Bank Governors meeting, virtual
15 Oct	C19: ECB to have reviewed temporary relief for capital requirements for market risk
16 Oct	Deadline for Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) frozen asset reports to be filed Deadline for responses to European Supervisory Authorities (ESA) survey on environmental and social financial product templates under the sustainability-related financial disclosures Regulation (SFDR)
16 – 18 Oct	International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group Annual Meeting, virtual
20 Oct	Deadline for responses to HMT Call for Evidence (CfE) on payments landscape review
21 Oct	Deadline for responses to Commission consultation on review of prudential rules for insurance and reinsurance companies (Solvency II)
21 – 23 Oct	Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary, virtual
22 Oct	FCA board meeting Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on draft RTS regarding estimating default probabilities and losses given defaults for internal default risk model under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on draft guidelines on application of alternative treatment of institutions’ exposures related to ‘tri-party repurchase agreements’ for large exposure purposes
23 Oct	Deadline for responses to PRA consultation (CP10/20) on Simplified Obligations for recovery planning In-scope audit firms to submit operational separation plans to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on RTS regarding determination of indirect exposures arising from (credit) derivative contracts underlying a debt or equity instrument for large exposures purposes Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on RTS on indirect subscription to the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) instruments within groups under the bank recovery and resolution Directive (BRRD)
24 Oct	Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on reporting MREL decisions Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on draft RTS on specifying methodology to be used by resolution authorities to estimate Pillar 2 and combined buffer requirements for setting MREL Deadline for EBA consultation on draft RTS and draft ITS on impracticability of contractual recognition of bail-in
25 Oct	Deadline for responses to HMT consultation on cryptoasset promotions Deadline for responses to HMT consultation on reforms to regulatory framework for financial promotion approvals
26 Oct	Deadline for responses to IOSCO consultation on use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/machine learning by market intermediaries and asset managers
31 Oct	FCA deadline for applications for payment freeze in respect of certain consumer credit arrangements C19: FCA accommodation for attaining professional qualifications in place until this date C19: Deadline for most provisions in FCA updated guidance for insurance and premium finance firms on customers in temporary financial difficulty C19: FCA deadline for publication of complaints data summary covering reporting periods ending between 1 January and 20 June 2020 required by DISP 1.10A.1R C19: FCA guidance on maturing interest-only and part-and-part mortgages comes into force Deadline for data submission under the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Insurance Capital Standard monitoring period Deadline for responses to EBA questionnaire quantitative questions on the cost of compliance with supervisory reporting requirements and for submissions of case studies Deadline for responses to EBA consultation on revised guidelines on internal governance Deadline for responses to ESMA and EBA consultation on revised guidelines on assessment of suitability of management board members Deadline for response to ESMA CfE on review of Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFIR) transparency requirements for equity and non-equity instruments
Oct	FCA to review July 2020 statement on firms’ handling of complaints during Covid-19 by end of October FCA expected to publish policy statement on consultation (CP20/12) on corporate reporting in structure data formats FCA expected to publish policy statement on consultation (CP20/10) on extension of SMCR implementation period FCA expected to publish draft Temporary Transitional Power (TTP) Directions BoE/PRA expected to publish consultation on Operational Continuity in Resolution (OCIR) Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) second review of Specific Direction 8 on protected ATMs Statutory Instrument (SI) to transpose Capital Requirements Directive V (CRD V) expected to be laid; PRA CP on draft rules to implement remaining elements of CRD V expected in early October Financial Stability Board (FSB) to publish final toolkit of effective practices for cyber incident response and recovery FSB to publish Stage 3 roadmap on enhancing global cross-border payments FSB to publish final report on ‘global stablecoin’ arrangements Some LIBOR linked collateral no longer eligible for use in Sterling Monetary Framework and BoE haircut add-on to all LIBOR linked collateral from October FSB to publish progress report on market fragmentation Announcement of winners of G20/BIS TechSprint initiative
Autumn 2020	BoE working with industry to shape feedback from discussion paper on ‘Transforming data collection from the UK financial sector’ into a transformation plan for data collection, until Autumn 2020 BoE expected to publish findings of evaluation of SMCR Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to publish data sharing code and data sharing toolkits and resources Law Commission to publish scoping study on intermediated securities Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) to be launched
Q4	FCA expected to publish consultation on amendments to accommodate Breathing Space Regulations FCA expected to publish consultation on Fees Policy FCA expected to publish feedback to consultation (CP20/16) on debt advice levy rates for 2020/21 – additional funding FCA expected to publish policy statement on consultation (CP20/5) on OEICs – proposals to facilitate standard listing FCA to publish policy statement on consultation (CP20/9) on driving value for money (VfM) in pensions FCA to publish policy statement on consultation (CP20/8) on marketing speculative illiquid securities (including speculative mini-bonds) to retail investors FCA to publish research project with the Alan Turing Institute on AI transparency in financial services FCA to publish policy statement on prohibiting investment products referencing certain cryptoassets Final stages of FCA Open Banking implementation Secondary legislation to bring pre-paid funeral plans into FCA remit expected, in addition to an FCA consultation Competition Markets Authority (CMA) to publish an update on its loyalty penalty super-complaint response, which pertains to markets including financial services FCA/BoE launch event planned for AI public/private forum with industry PRA may publish consultation on mortgage risk-weight floors PRA to publish consultation on risk-free rate PSR to publish consultation on proposed regulatory approach to the New Payments Architecture HMT expected to publish CfE on review of Solvency II House of Commons Treasury Committee to publish report following inquiry into Government’s response and the economic effect of Covid-19 ESMA annual report on MiFID II waivers and deferrals ESMA MiFID II review report on post-trade risk reduction services ESMA annual report on use of sanctions and administrative measures under Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) expected (yearly) ESMA expected to publish guidelines on leverage under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) EBA Investment Firm Regulation and Directive (IFD/IFR) RTS on: calculation of the amount of the total margin for the calculation of K-CMG; criteria for subjecting certain investment firms to the CRR; calculation of the fixed overheads requirement; notion of a material change; methods for measuring the K-factors and adjusting their coefficients; segregated accounts; and adjustments to the K-DTF coefficient EBA RTS on determination of indirect exposures arising from (credit) derivative contracts underlying a debt or equity instrument for large exposures purposes EBA guidelines specifying conditions for substitution approach to exposures collateralised by market value of recognised collateral EBA report on emerging technology risks and related guidance for prudential supervisors EBA report on cost of compliance EBA annual risk report on the EU banking system EBA opinion on the equivalence of regulatory and supervisory frameworks of third countries Commission to adopt proposal for a Regulation on non-financial reporting by large companies Commission legislative measures on gender pay gap transparency (feedback period following public consultation upcoming) Commission decision on progressing an EU GBS Commission adoption of Digital Services Act Commission Communication on Better Regulation Commission proposal for a legislative framework for the governance of common European data spaces EIOPA to undertake preparatory work for cyber resilience testing in the insurance sector EIOPA annual report on national use of sanctions under packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) EIOPA opinion on costs and charges of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORPs) EIOPA report(s) on a priority Insurance Tech (InsurTech) topic EIOPA work on technology in regulation and supervision ESMA expects to publish final report on draft guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers (either in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021) Commission reviews of Consumer Credit Directive (CCD) and Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Directive (MD(FS)) Final RTS/ITS on TRs under European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) REFIT to be submitted to Commission

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