Hello everybody and welcome to this week’s financial services updater which is an international edition which contains articles from our international offices.
The first highlight this week is that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a level 2 consultation on draft regulatory technical standards and implementing technical standards for the European Market Infrastructure Regulation otherwise known as EMIR.
These technical standards are intended to ensure that EMIR’s objectives of reducing risks arising from OTC derivatives, improving transparency and ensuring sound and resilient central counterparties will be applied in practice.
The deadline for responding to ESMA’s consultation paper is 5 August 2012. The final draft of the technical standards are intended to be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement by 30 September 2012.
The second highlight concerns another key EU initiative, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, or AIFMD.
Annex 2 of the AIFMD establishes a set of rules which alternative investment fund managers have to comply with when establishing and applying the remuneration policies for certain categories of their staff. Article 13(2) of the AIFMD requires ESMA to develop guidelines on sound remuneration policies which comply with Annex 2.
ESMA has now published a consultation paper concerning the proposed remuneration guidelines. Key elements of ESMA’s consultation cover internal governance, types of remuneration and bonuses and fees. ESMA’s consultation runs until 27 September 2012. It aims to publish a final report before the end of 2012, so that the remuneration guidelines will be in place in advance of the AIFMD’s transposition deadline of 22 July 2013.
Closer to home perhaps it is also worth remembering that we are holding our buy-side regulatory workshop on 12 July which will focus on the AIFMD. A link to the invitation is set out in the seminars section of the updater.
As I mentioned at the start this week’s updater is an international edition and we also have articles from our offices in Paris, Milan, Dubai and Amsterdam.
Our Paris office reports on a new market practice on bond buy-backs for liquidity purposes. It also covers a recent clarification by the French securities regulator concerning the disclosure requirements applicable to cash-settled derivatives.
Our Milan office reports on the implementation of the Second Electronic Money Directive in Italy and certain changes to the regulatory framework applicable to payment institutions.
Our Dubai office discusses the UAE Financial Services Association which is a relatively new non-profit company established in the Dubai International Financial Centre, of which, Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP, are a member.
Finally our office in Amsterdam has provided a couple of articles including one which reports on a new Intervention Act which creates several measures that Dutch authorities can use to intervene in a financial institution which is in financial difficulties.
I hope you find this week’s updater helpful. Good bye.
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