Financial Services Regulation and Compliance - Investment Firms Jan 2020

DOMESTIC

Central Bank publishes Reporting Requirements for MiFID Investment Firms

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has released reporting requirements for this year. The reporting requirements list the return type name and who it is applicable to. It also stipulates the frequency by which the returns should be reported. Guidance notes have also been attached to give directions to all investment firms. The Report also provides two distinct headings for Ad-Hoc Returns and Scheduled Returns.

EUROPEAN

ESMA announces its key priorities for 2020-2022

ESMA has published its Strategic Orientation for 2020-2022. The Strategic Orientation sets out ESMA's objectives and reflects its new responsibilities and powers following the ESAs Review, EMIR 2.2 and other developments, which increases its focus on supervisory convergence, strengthens its role in building the Capital Markets Union and gives it with more direct supervision responsibilities. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said: "One of our key priorities is ensuring the consistent and coherent implementation of the Single Rulebook and, with our new powers in this area, we will adopt a risk-based approach, in cooperation with national authorities, to supervisory convergence across the EU. While we will evolve further as a direct supervisor, with responsibility for critical benchmarks and data service providers and 3rd country CCPs, prioritising those areas posing the greatest risks to our objectives.”

ESMA launches consultation on draft technical standards on the provision of investment services and activities in the EU by third-country firms under MiFID II and MiFIR

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will consider the responses to the consultation when developing:

  • draft regulatory technical standards to specify the information that third-country firms must provide to ESMA for registration in the ESMA register of third-country firms and for the information that third-country firms have to report annually to ESMA and
  • draft implementing technical standards to specify the format in which the information for the registration of the firm and for the annual report to ESMA should be submitted.

The closing date for responses is 31 March 2020.

ESMA clarifies SFTR reporting with new Guidelines, final report, amended SFTR validation rules and releases a statement on LEI

ESMA published its final report, its Guidelines on reporting under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), amended SFTR validation rules and a statement on Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) on 6 January 2020.​ The SFTR guidelines aim to clarify a number of provisions of SFTR and to provide practical guidance on the implementation of some of those provisions.

The SFTR Guidelines are long (216 pages) and technical.  They clarify, amongst many other things, the following:

  • certain market transactions which do not fall under the definition of an SFT due to their nature
  • ESMA also reconfirmed that it identified two situations where a non-EU AIFM would be impacted by SFTR. Non-EU AIFMs with an EU AIF authorised to provide services under passporting regime, retain the responsibility for reporting. In the cases of the national private placement regime, the non-EU AIFM should report if required to by the national rules, or otherwise, the responsibility remains with the EU AIF

ESMA did not take on board the feedback by some respondents that non-EU AIFs are not required to report irrespective of the location of the AIFM, as AIFs managed by AIFM registered or authorised under AIFMD are subject to reporting under SFTR.

For more information on this topic please contact any member of A&L Goodbody's Financial Regulation team.

Date published: 7 February 2020