EU & UK Reg Round Up: 27/05/2024

Corinne Jones -

European Banking Authority

EBA launch a consultation on its draft RTS regarding the equivalent mechanism for unfinished property - 13 May 2024

The consultation is regarding the draft RTS under the CRR3 regulation where they specify new conditions that a legal mechanism should meet to recognise a property under construction in the own fund requirements calculation under the standardised approach of credit risk. The conditions are:

  1. The entity should be required to or have committed in a legally binding manner to ensure the property under construction will be finished in a reasonable timeframe.
  2. The entity doing so should have the legal powers and ability to do so.
  3. A counter guarantee is provided by a central government or assimilated entities.

EBA publishes final set of draft technical standards in the Crypto-Assets regulation space - 07 May 2024

The European Banking Authority (EBA) released new technical standards regulating asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) under the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCAR), specifically 3 sets of RTS and 1 set of ITS. These standards cover issuer authorization, information requirements for acquiring qualifying holdings, and the approval process for white papers. They ensure comprehensive assessment and compliance with EU market access regulations.

EBA presents its main achievements for 2023 - 06 May 2024

The EBA continued its work at strengthening the EU financial sector, by finalising the implementation of the Basel III framework in the EU, implementing the ESG roadmap, and delivering on its digital finance mandates under the MiCAR and the DORA acts. They also performed an enhanced EU-wide stress test and further rolled out its data strategy aiming to improve the way regulatory data is acquired, complied, used, and disseminated to stakeholders.

EBA will start collecting information on natural persons - 02 May 2024

Starting May 2024, EU supervisors can report names of individuals to EuReCA, the EBA's central anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing database. EuReCA enhances supervision by providing targeted information on serious AML/CFT deficiencies in financial institutions and measures taken to address them. This step strengthens the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU by enabling supervisors to report deficiencies linked to natural persons, including customers, beneficial owners, and key personnel in financial institutions.

European Securities and Markets Authority

ESMA asks for input on assets eligible for UCITS - 07 May 2024

ESMA published a Call for Evidence on the review of the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities under the Eligible Assets Directive (EAD). As UCITS are a key investment product in the EU which account for around 75% of all collective investments by retail investors, the success of this product is depending on a well regulated and supervised investment product. The purpose of this Call for Evidence is to access possible risk and benefits of UCITS gaining exposure to various asset classes.

Bank of England

Bank rate maintained at 5.25% - 09 May 2024

The BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority to maintain the Bank Rate at 5.25% to help meet the 2% inflation target along with sustaining growth and employment.  A minority wanted to reduce the Bank rate by 0.25 percentage points. UK GDP is expected to show slight growth in the first and second quarters of 2024, but demand growth is forecasted to lag behind potential supply growth. Economic struggles are projected to persist due to tight monetary policy. Despite a decline in average weekly earnings growth, the labour market is judged to be relatively tight compared to historical standards.