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The FCA has published an updated version of the statement it originally published in May, to clarify its position on complaints handling during the Covid-19 pandemic. The regulator clarifies its position regarding:
The FCA reviewed the statement at the end of July and re-published with minor additions, and intend to review again by the end of October.
Updated FCA statement on firms’ handling of complaints in light of COVID-19
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published for consultation proposed revisions to its Guidelines on internal governance under the Capital Requirements Directive (2013/36/EU) (CRD IV). The EBA originally published the Guidelines in September 2017 and they came into force in June 2018. The proposed changes reflect certain amendments introduced by the Capital Requirements Directive (EU) 2019/878 (CRD V) and the Investment Firms Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (IFD).
Comments to this consultation can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the “send your comments” button on the consultation page. The deadline for the submission of comments is 31 October 2020 and the amended Guidelines are expected to come into force on 26 June 2021.
EBA Consultation Paper on proposed revisions to its Guidelines on internal governance under CRD IV
The EBA and the ESMA have published for consultation revised joint Guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders under the CRD IV and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2014/65/EU) (MiFID II). The proposed revisions reflect changes introduced by the CRD V and the IFD.
The draft joint guidelines cover:
The consultation period ends on 31 October 2020, after which ESMA and the EBA will finalise the Guidelines. EBA and ESMA consultation on joint Guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders under CRD IV and MiFID II
On 6 August 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a consultative document seeking comments on proposed Principles for operational resilience. Given the natural relationship between operational resilience and operational risk, the Basel Committee is also proposing to update its Principles for the sound management of operational risk (PSMOR).
The proposed Principles for Operational Resilience aim to increase banks’ capability to withstand and absorb disruptions arising from potentially severe and adverse events. Among other things, the proposed principles focus on governance, operational risk management, business continuity planning and testing, outsourcing, and IT and cyber security.
The Basel Committee also proposes updates to its Principles for the Sound Management of Operational Risk to:
The consultation period closes on 6 November 2020.
Press release: Basel Committee consults on Principles for operational risk and resilience
Basel Committee Principles for Operational Resilience
Basel Committee Principles for the Sound Management of Operational Risk
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a statement on driving innovation and competition in real-time payments while maintaining appropriate consumer protection.
The statement shares the PSR’s thinking on topics such as:
PSR statement on driving innovation and competition in real-time payments
The Lending Standards Board (LSB) has published an updated version of its Standards of Lending Practice for business customers, as well as supporting updates to its Information for Practitioners. The LSB has also announced the FCA’s continued recognition of those Standards and of the Information for Practitioners in relation to products offered under the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
The FCA’s rational for the recognition of industry codes for certain unregulated activities is that, where firms’ behaviour is in line with an FCA-recognised code, this will tend to indicate that they are complying with applicable FCA market conduct rules when they undertake unregulated activities.
Updated LSB Standards of Lending Practice for business customers in light of CBILS and BBLS
Draft LSB Standards of Lending Practice for business customers
The Bank of England has published the Financial Stability Report for August 2020, alongside charts relating to aspects of the UK financial system, including spending in the UK economy and bank lending.
Written by the Financial Policy Commitee (FPC), the report maintains that “banks have the capacity, and that it is in the collective interest of the banking system, to continue to support businesses and households” during the pandemic.
As well as this, the FPC states that it supports the work of UK authorities to consider reforms to payments regulation and welcomes the launch of the Call for Evidence by HM Treasury as part of its Payments Landscape Review.
The Bank of England has also separately published a record of the FPC meetings held on 29 July and 3 August 2020, together with a summary.
The FPC’s next policy meeting will be on 30 September 2020.
Bank of England Financial Stability Report for August 2020
Bank of England Monetary Policy Report and Financial Stability Report Opening remarks
The FCA has published a Consultation Paper (CP20/14) setting out proposals to update its Dual-regulated firms Remuneration Code to reflect amendments to remuneration requirements introduced by CRD V. The UK is required to transpose certain elements of CRD V because the transposition deadline is before the end of the Brexit transition period.
The Consultation proposes changes to:
The FCA will not apply the CRD V remuneration requirements to solo-regulated investment firms; they remain subject to the existing rules in the IFPRU Remuneration Code or BIPRU Remuneration Code, as appropriate, and should continue to apply their existing remuneration regime until the new UK prudential regime for investment firms is in place.
The consultation period closes on 30 September 2020, following which the FCA intends to publish a Policy Statement before the CRD V transposition deadline of 28 December 2020.
FCA Consultation Paper CP20/14: Updating the Dual-regulated firms Remuneration Code to reflect CRD V
The FCA has published the findings of its multi-firm review of relending or repeat borrowing practices by firms offering high-cost credit. The review highlights concerns about some firms’ poor practices in this context and sets out the FCA’s expectations regarding the fair treatment of relevant customers.
Among other things, the FCA states that:
The FCA expects firms to review their relending operations in light of the findings and make any necessary changes to improve customer outcomes.
FCA multi-firm review relending and additional borrowing by high-cost credit firms
HM Treasury has published its eighth annual supervision report on anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) for 2018/19. The report includes self-reported data about supervisory activity undertaken in 2018-19 across the UK’s AML/CTF regime, which was provided to HM Treasury by supervisors in their annual returns.
HM Treasury annual supervisory report on AML and CTF for 2018/19
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published some frequently asked questions related to the implementation of its Guidelines on reporting and disclosure of exposures subject to measures applied in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The technical clarifications provided by the EBA will assist supervisors and credit institutions in the implementation of the Guidelines.
Due to the significant number of issues that have arisen, and may continue to arise, in the context of the EBA’s monitoring of the implementation of COVID-19 policies, the EBA expects to update the Report at a later stage.
EBA report on the implementation of selected COVID-19 prudential policies
The Bank of England has updated its webpage on the implementation of the CHAPS enhanced ISO 20022 payment messaging standard, to confirm that it plans to go-live with the enhanced messaging standard in April 2022. This follows the Bank of England’s industry review of its approach to the adoption of the CHAPS enhanced ISO 20022 messages in July 2020, which form part of the Bank of England’s real-time gross settlement (RTGS) renewal programme.
The Bank confirms that it plans to go-live with the enhanced messaging standard in April 2022, as currently planned, but on a “like-for-like” basis in order to help direct participants manage the truncation issues ahead of SWIFT’s adoption of ISO 20022 in late 2022. The Bank plans to enable enhanced data to be sent and received during the first half of 2023 and is undertaking further analysis on whether this should occur before or after the planned cutover to the new RTGS programme in April 2023.
The Bank intends to publish an update and further supporting documentation in September 2020.
The FCA has published published a Feedback Statement (FS20/13) and accompanying updated guidance for insurance and premium finance firms when dealing with customers experiencing temporary financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19. This follows the FCA’s initial guidance for such firms, published in May 2020, and its consultation on its draft updated guidance in July 2020.
The guidance sets out measures to help customers who hold insurance and premium finance products and who are in temporary financial difficulty because of coronavirus. The measures are:
The updated guidance applies from 11 August 2020. Unless renewed or updated, the majority of the FCA’s guidance will expire on 31 October 2020, save for provisions relating to residual issues for customers coming to the end of payment deferrals after that time.
FCA finalised updated guidance for insurance and premium finance firms in light of COVID-19
The FCA has published a webpage on new annual reporting requirements for solo-regulated firms under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). Relevant firms are required to inform the FCA about any disciplinary action taken against individuals, who are not senior managers, for breaches of the Conduct Rules.
Firms must report whether they have taken disciplinary action against individuals who are not Senior Managers for breaches of the Conduct Rules and, if so, the details of the breach.
This includes:
The REP008 has been added to all solo-regulated firms’ Gabriel schedules, and will need to be submitted annually, even if there has been no breaches of the conduct rules.
The FCA has also separately updated its webpage on the SMCR for solo-regulated firms to include new tables illustrating examples of good and poor practice in relation to the FCA’s expectations on fitness and propriety assessments and the Conduct Rules.
FCA webpage on new annual reporting requirements for solo-regulated firms under the SMCR
FCA webpage on SMCR for solo-regulated firms
The FCA has updated its webpage on the progress of its High Court test case, which seeks a declaratory judgment about the meaning and effect of the wording of certain business interruption (BI) insurance policies in light of COVID-19.
The webpage now includes the final transcripts for each day of the trial. The trial ran for eight days, ending on 30 July 2020. The exact date of judgment is not known, but it might be available by the middle of September 2020.
FCA webpage on its High Court test case on the validity of BI insurance claims in light of COVID-19
The European Securites and Markets Authority has published a letter from Steven Maijoor (Chair of ESMA) to Valdis Dombovskis (Vice President of the European Commission) highlighting areas that ESMA believes should be prioritised under the Commission’s review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/EU) (AIFMD).
ESMA’s letter includes recommendations for changes in 19 areas including harmonising the AIFMD and UCITS regimes; delegation and substance; liquidity management tools; leverage; the AIFMD reporting regime and data use; and the harmonisation of supervision of cross-border entities.
ESMA also notes that its proposals may also require amendments to the legislative framework under the UCITS Directive (2009/65/EC).
ESMA letter to the European Commission on its review of AIFMD
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its response to the European Commission’s consultation on the development of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) action plan, published in May 2020.
The EBA recommends that the Commission:
The EBA will continue to provide technical input into the debate as it progresses, including on the details of the new supervisory architecture.
EBA response to the European Commission public consultation on AML/CFT action plan
The Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) has confirmed that its revised sectoral guidance on amendments introduced by the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/1511), published in June 2020, and its revised sectoral guidance on pooled client accounts, cryptoasset exchanges and custodian wallet providers, published in July 2020, has received ministerial approval from HM Treasury.
Press release: HM Treasury approves JMLSG revised sectoral guidance
The FCA has updated its webpage on the temporary permissions regime (TPR) to improve navigation. It reiterates that it will re-open the notifications window for the TPR on 30 September 2020.
More helpful guidance can be found on the page, with links to pages covering:
The Financial Ombudsman Service has published Issue 153 of Ombudsman News, which includes an an insight summary focusing on complaints resulting from COVID-19 and its impact on consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
FOS summary of complaints resulting from COVID-19
The FCA has published a Consultation Paper (CP20/17) setting out its proposed plans to extend the scope of the Annual Financial Crime Report (REP-CRIM) obligations to include firms that carry on regulated activities considered to pose a higher money laundering risk. This extension will apply irrespective of a firm’s revenue threshold.
The FCA has stated the consultation period will end on 23 November 2020.
CP 20/17: Extension of Annual Financial Crime Reporting Obligation