On 29 January 2020, the European Commission published its 2020 Work Programme . In the introductory note, the Commission acknowledges “unprecedented challenges” that lay ahead for this year and beyond, including negotiation of a new partnership agreement with the UK – “a country that will remain a partner, ally and friend outside our Union”. As the Commission further notes that “the first year of this mandate will set the vision, direction and pace for the…

On 22 January 2020, Norton Rose Fulbright’s corporate financial services and government relations practices, in cooperation with the City of London Corporation, organised a panel debate on “The finalisation of the Basel III reforms in a post-Brexit environment: single or dual-track approach?”. Hosted in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Brussels office, the event gathered over 75 participants, representing various sectors of the financial services industry – including a number of the firm’s clients – as well as…

For all financial services practitioners, 2020 will be a year of dynamic developments. The first full working year of the 2019-2024 College of Commissioners, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to set the scene for the legislative, regulatory and policy agenda for the duration of its mandate. From the MiFID II review, the finalisation of Basel III reform and entirely new initiatives, such as the development of a legislative framework for…

On 19 December 2019, the European Commission (Commission) launched a public consultation on the future EU framework for markets in crypto-assets. Launched in parallel with a public consultation on a digital operational resilience framework for financial services, both consultations are initial steps towards the implementation of the new Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, objective for Europe to grasp “all the potential of the digital age and strengthens its industry and innovation capacity, within safe…

On 4 December 2019, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the second part of its advice on the implementation of the final Basel III standard in the European Union, complementing its report published on 05 August 2019. The most recent EBA publication focuses on an assessment of the impact of the revisions to the credit valuation adjustment (CVA) and market risk frameworks, accompanied by a set of 18 policy recommendations. It also provides a revised…

On 18 November 2019, the European Commission published a press release announcing the composition of a high-level forum on the Capital Markets Union (CMU). The forum is made up of a group of 28 experts from the civil society, the business and finance community and other non-public sector institutions who will provide insight and support the Commission’s goal to develop the CMU. The forum will be chaired by Thomas Wieser, former chair of the European…

On Tuesday, 12 November 2019, the European Commission hosted a conference titled Implementing Basel III: Challenges and impact. The event was held in the context of the ongoing Commission consultation on Basel III implementation (see our earlier post here). The opening remarks were delivered by Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission’s Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, who confirmed that legislative proposals implementing the final elements…