The following represents a carefully curated selection of our recent Thought Leadership contributions:
CFDs
ESMA's July Q&A on temporary products bans on core retail investment products sharpens the supervisory scope further. This Client Alert assesses the requirements of the ban, the newest amendments and clarifications to the restrictions as well as what firms may want to do and what opportunities might be available.
Central Bank of Cyber?
Improving cyber-resilience standards has long been both a priority for supervisory but also financial stability policymakers. The ECB's newest framework on the subject not only marks a clear commitment by the ECB to the subject and increased scrutiny, but also a new step in how rules are made – in this case with a central banking/financial stability as opposed to a supervisory hat on. The following Client Alert assesses TIBER-EU's approach, the expectations it requires market participants to meet, how these compare to other ECB activities in this area and some next steps that firms will want to consider in light of its changes as well as relevant supervisory priorities.
EU's Whistleblowing Directive
In light of recent corporate scandals uncovered by whistleblowers, such as the Panama Papers, the Luxleaks and Cambridge Analytica, the European Commission has decided to step in to strengthen the protection of whistleblowers. This Client Alert covers the scope, content and impact of the proposed EU rules on whistleblowing on financial services firms.
MiFID
EU policymakers have long been concerned that a wide range of "bank like" activity is undertaken by regulated financial institutions, mostly MiFID Investment Firms that are subject to differing prudential capital requirements and oversight. In December 2017, the European Commission issued two legislative proposals to create a new simpler and more risk-sensitive prudential capital regime for MiFID Investment Firms built around quantitative metrics, called K Factors, that define regulatory capital levels. With these proposals set to possibly come into force as early as mid to late 2019, this Client Alert, the first in a dedicated series, assesses some of the likely impact of this regime and how in-scope firms can stay ahead of the curve.
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