On 17 June 2021, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) published a report titled “A review of MiFID II and MiFIR: Recommendations on transparency and a consolidated tape” (the Report). In the context of the European Commission’s revision of the MiFID II/MiFIR regime, the AFM is proposing a number of recommendations in relation to the MiFID/MiFIR transparency framework. The AFM is recommending working towards meaningful transparency in the capital…

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a report called ‘Artificial intelligence governance principles: towards ethical and trustworthy artificial intelligence in the European insurance sector’. The report has been written in the context of the proliferation in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in insurance and the use of Big Data in underwriting. EIOPA refers to evidence that the growth in the use of AI has been exacerbated by COVID 19. EIOPA’s…

On 16 June 2021, the FCA and the Bank of England (BoE) issued a statement supporting and encouraging liquidity providers in the US dollar linear interest rate swaps market to adopt new trading conventions for interdealer trading based on the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) instead of LIBOR from 26 July 2021. This is to facilitate a shift in market liquidity towards SOFR, bringing benefits for a wide range of users as they move away…

On 16 June 2021, the European Commission issued a targeted consultation designed to gather evidence on improving transparency and efficiency in secondary markets for non-performing loans (NPLs). The Commission notes that one of the key actions in fostering secondary markets for NPLs is to improve the quantity, quality and comparability of NPL data. Secondary markets can be broader and more efficient if market participants have more and better data. As part of its strategy to…

On 16 June 2021, the FCA announced that it was extending the deadline for responding to its Call for Input on the pensions consumer journey.  The extension follows stakeholder feedback. The deadline for responding to the Call for Input is now 30 July 2021.…

On 15 June 2021, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 2018/990 with regard to requirements for assets received by money market funds as part of reverse repurchase agreements. The Regulation on Money Markets Funds (MMF Regulation) lays down rules on authorisation of money market funds that cover, among other things, eligible assets and their quality. In Article 15(7), it empowers the Commission to specify supplementary quantitative and qualitative liquidity requirements applicable…

On 16 June 2021, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/962 extending the transitional period under Article 89(1) of the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Delegated Regulation extends the central clearing exemption for pension scheme arrangements until 18 June 2022. It enters into force on 17 June 2021…