Recent regulatory developments of interest to financial institutions and markets. Includes updates on UK recognition applications for EEA CSDs and more.
Contents
- Brexit: BoE statement on recognition applications for EEA CSDs
- REMIT: ACER updates guidance
- ESMA Financial Instruments Reference Data System: UK Finance user guidance
Brexit: BoE statement on recognition applications for EEA CSDs
The Bank of England (BoE) has updated its webpage on the effect of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on financial market infrastructure supervision to reflect the publication of the draft Equivalence Determinations for Financial Services (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 which supplement existing legislation that provides for equivalence and recognition decisions after the end of the Brexit transition period.
Among other things, the Regulations provide a mechanism for EEA firms to apply for recognition from the FCA or the BoE before the end of the transition period, once HM Treasury has made an equivalence determination relating to the legislative framework under which they operate.
The BoE states that:
- if HM Treasury makes a relevant equivalence decision, the BoE will contact EEA central securities depositories (CSDs), as appropriate, and notify them of the actions that they need to take, including the manner in which a recognition application may be made and the information that must accompany it. The BoE notes that, in any event, EEA CSDs must submit a formal recognition application within six months of the end of the transition period; and
- the procedure for non-EEA CSDs remains unchanged. HM Treasury will not make any equivalence decisions relevant to these CSDs until after the end of the transition period.
REMIT: ACER updates guidance
The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has published the following updated guidance documentation relating to the Regulation on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT):
ACER acknowledges that, due to COVID-19, reporting parties may face difficulties in implementing the changes introduced by the updated guidance documentation by the end of 2020. However, it advises that reporting parties must work to achieve compliance to the greatest extent possible.
ESMA Financial Instruments Reference Data System: UK Finance user guidance
UK Finance has published user guidance on the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA's) Financial Instruments Reference Data System (FIRDS), together with a blog on the launch of the guidance.
FIRDS is the reference data architecture developed by ESMA and national competent authorities to provide publication of, and access to, reference data required under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation.
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