The following posts provide a snapshot of selected UK, EU and global wholesale financial regulatory developments of interest to banks, investment firms, broker-dealers, market infrastructures, asset managers and corporates.
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EU Publishes New Sustainable Finance Package
07/11/2023
The EU published a new Sustainable finance package 2023 on June 13, 2023. The package includes:- A Proposed Regulation on the transparency and integrity of ESG rating activities, which aims to enhance the quality of ESG ratings. The Regulation will introduce an authorization and ongoing supervision regime for ESG rating providers along with certain obligations, e.g., disclosures on ratings methodologies. The proposal does not intend to harmonize the methodologies for the calculation of ESG ratings, but to increase their transparency. Third-country ESG rating providers may be able to offer their services in the EU under either equivalence, endorsement or recognition. The U.K. is currently consulting on making the provision of ESG ratings a regulated activity.
Read more.ATTORNEYS: Thomas Donegan, Chloe Barrowman
TOPICS : Climate & Sustainable Finance, Credit Ratings, Environmental, Social and Governance -
UK Conduct Regulator Publishes Dear CEO Letter to Credit Rating Agencies
02/23/2022
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Dear CEO letter to Credit Rating Agencies setting out its expectations on the actions CRAs should undertake to minimize risks to consumers, market integrity and competition.
Read more. -
UK Financial Conduct Authority Publishes Feedback Statement on Access to Wholesale Data
01/11/2022
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a feedback statement relating to the call for input on accessing and using wholesale data. In the feedback statement, the FCA summarizes the responses received and the FCA's findings on whether data are being priced and sold competitively. The FCA confirms that it will undertake the following work to gain a deeper understanding of the potential harm and, where appropriate, take steps to mitigate any harm. In particular, the FCA will focus on the following:
- Trading data: in Spring 2022, the FCA will run an information gathering and analysis exercise that concentrates on the pricing of trading data, underlying costs and the terms for the sale of trading data. The FCA's findings will be published later in 2022.
- Benchmarks: in Summer 2022, the FCA will launch a market study into how competition operates between benchmarks, which will include the pricing of benchmarks, contractual terms and obstacles to switching between benchmarks.
- Credit Rating Agencies: by the end of 2022, the FCA will begin a market study on the competition in the sale of credit rating data, including pricing, contractual relationships, difficulties in entry to the credit rating data market and innovation.
- Alternative data and advanced analytics: the FCA has commissioned research on the nature and scale of alternative data.
ATTORNEYS: Thomas Donegan, Sandy Collins
TOPICS : Competition, Consumer Protection, Credit Ratings, Financial Market Infrastructure -
European Securities and Markets Authority Consults on Revised Fees for Credit Rating Agencies
01/29/2021
Following a request from the European Commission for technical advice on revising the rules on the calculation and payment of fees, the European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on proposed fees charged to credit rating agencies by it. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until March 15, 2021. ESMA is due to submit its final technical advice to the Commission by the end of June 2021.
The EU CRA Regulation provides that ESMA shall charge fees to CRAs to cover ESMA's costs relating to the registration, certification and supervision of CRAs. The different types of supervisory fees payable, the amount of fees payable, the modalities of payment and the reimbursement of fees to national competent authorities are set out in Commission Delegated Regulation 272/2012. ESMA is seeking feedback on its proposals, the key ones of which are to charge a single registration fee of €45,000 and annual supervisory fees of €20,000 to registered CRAs with annual revenues between €1 million and €10 million. In addition, ESMA is proposing an annual endorsement fee of €20,000 to all CRAs endorsing credit ratings for use in the EU and annual fees for all certified CRAs.
View ESMA's consultation paper.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
EU Publishes Further Statement on Endorsement by EU Credit Rating Agencies of UK Ratings After the Brexit Transition Period
10/27/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a further statement confirming that U.K. credit ratings can be endorsed by EU credit rating agencies from January 1, 2021, when the Brexit transition period ends. The EU CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may use credit ratings only for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by: (i) an EU CRA registered with ESMA; or (ii) a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime or the equivalence/certification regime. There is currently no equivalence decision for the U.K. CRA regime. Therefore, EU entities may use U.K. credit ratings only for regulatory purposes if the rating has been endorsed by an EU CRA. ESMA confirmed in March 2019 a positive assessment of the U.K.'s CRA regime for the purposes of endorsement. However, the final decision to endorse is for an EU CRA.
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EU Consultation on Draft Guidelines on Outsourcing to Cloud Service Providers
06/03/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on draft guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers. The draft guidelines cover: (i) governance, documentation, systems and procedures that firms should have in place; (ii) the assessment and due diligence to be undertaken before outsourcing arrangements are entered; (iii) minimum elements that outsourcing agreements should include; (iv) exit strategies; and (v) access and audit rights. The consultation closes on September 1, 2020. ESMA expects to publish the final guidelines in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021.
Read more. -
EU Report on CLO Rating Risks
05/13/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a report highlighting certain issues related to rating-collateralized loan obligations. ESMA launched a review in May 2019 on the arrangements that the three main credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings) have adopted to assign and monitor credit ratings on CLO instruments issued and rated in the EU. The review is part of ESMA's work on identifying vulnerabilities to financial stability arising from leveraged loans. Leveraged loans are of concern because of: (i) the excessive level of financial leverage of some corporate issuers; (ii) the weakening of underwriting criteria applied by lending entities; and (iii) the expected evolutions in the credit cycle.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Advice on Fines and Penalties for Third-Country CCPs
03/31/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its final technical advice to the European Commission on procedural rules for imposing fines and penalties on third-country CCPs and trade repositories. The technical advice also covers the alignment of the rules with those applicable to EU credit rating agencies, which ESMA directly supervises. The European Commission mandated ESMA to produce the technical advice in response to changes made to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation by EMIR Refit and EMIR 2.2. EMIR Refit updated (amongst other things) the requirements applicable to trade repositories, including with respect to fines and penalties. EMIR 2.2 introduced investigatory and supervisory powers over CCPs for ESMA to ensure compliance with the new requirements, including the ability to request information from CCPs, appoint an independent investigation officer to investigate any possible infringements under EMIR 2.2 and impose fines.
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European Securities and Markets Association Publishes Call for Evidence on Credit Rating Information and Data
03/30/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a call for evidence on credit rating information and data, the purpose of which is to understand the activities of those who use credit ratings.
In doing so ESMA wants to identify each users' requirements of credit ratings information, including:
- the format of the information;
- the frequency with which the information is required; and
- the scope.
ESMA also aims to understand why users prefer to rely on paid-for third-party providers, rather than rely on the freely published information provided by the European Rating Platform.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
COVID-19: European Securities and Markets Authority Extends Consultation Deadlines
03/20/2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority has announced that it is extending the consultation response dates to assist market participants as they implement arrangements to ensure business continuity during the coronavirus outbreak.
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European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Follow-Up Report on Credit Rating Agency and Trade Repository Fees
12/20/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a follow-up report on its 2018 Thematic Report on the fees charged by credit rating agencies and trade repositories. ESMA directly supervises all CRAs and trade repositories that are established in the EU. The 2018 Thematic Report highlighted three key areas of concern in the fee charging practices of CRAs and trade repositories, namely: (i) transparency and disclosure to clients and ESMA of fees; (ii) the process of setting fees; and (iii) how interactions with other group entities may pose challenges to the principles of non-discrimination and cost-related fees to which credit rating agencies and trade repositories are expected to adhere.
Read more. -
Proposed EU Procedural Rules for Penalties Imposed on Third-Country CCPs, Trade Repositories and Credit Rating Agencies
12/13/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on proposed procedural rules for penalties imposed on third-country CCPs, trade repositories and credit rating agencies. Responses are invited by January 18, 2020. ESMA intends to finalize its technical advice by the end of Q1 2020.
Read more. -
European Securities and Markets Authority Launches Consultation on Credit Ratings Agencies’ Internal Control Functions
12/05/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines setting out the criteria that Credit Ratings Agencies should have in place to demonstrate that their internal control systems are adequate and effective to maintain the independence of their activities, in line with the EU Credit Ratings Agencies Regulation. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by March 16, 2020. ESMA intends to publish a final report in 2020.
Read more. -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes 2020 Work Priorities
10/01/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its Annual Work Programme for 2020. The Work Programme sets out ESMA’s focus areas for 2020 and provides details of expected outputs within each of the areas. In 2019, the European Council, Parliament and Commission agreed on new tasks for ESMA, meaning that ESMA will take on an enhanced role in areas including direct supervision, supervisory convergence and investor protection. The final Regulations amending the scope of the European Supervisory Authorities’ work mandates are expected to be published in the second half of 2019.
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EU Credit Rating Equivalence Decisions Repealed for Some; Reaffirmed for Others
07/30/2019
A series of Implementing Decisions on the equivalence with the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation of the credit rating regimes of certain non-EU countries have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The EU CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may only use credit ratings for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by: (i) an EU CRA registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority; (ii) a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime; or (iii) a third-country CRA under the equivalence/certification regime. Equivalence decisions for several jurisdictions were adopted in 2012 under the CRA Regulation, as it was at the time. The equivalence decisions were for Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Singapore, Australia, Mexico, the U.S., Japan and Hong Kong. CRAs from Mexico, the U.S. and Japan subsequently obtained certification from ESMA.
Read more. -
Final EU Guidelines on EU Credit Rating Agency Disclosure Obligations and Advice on Sustainable Finance in the Credit Rating Market
07/18/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published two documents relating to sustainable finance in the credit rating sector. The first document is technical advice for the European Commission, responding to the Commission's mandate in its 2018 Action Plan for Sustainable Finance for ESMA to assess the current practice within the credit rating market concerning sustainability considerations. ESMA has assessed the extent to which environmental, social or governance factors are considered within credit rating agencies' credit assessments. ESMA concludes that CRAs are including ESG factors in their ratings, but it is difficult to assess the extent to which each factor is being considered in the various asset classes. ESMA warns that credit ratings should not be understood as providing an opinion on sustainability characteristics of an issuer or entity and recommends that the CRA Regulation should not be revised to require the consideration of sustainability characteristics in CRAs' credit assessments. However, ESMA advises that it may be appropriate to update the disclosure requirements in the CRA Regulation to enhance the transparency on how CRAs are considering the ESG factors.
Read more. -
European Commission Updates Credit Rating Agencies Regulation Equivalence Decisions
06/11/2019
The European Commission has published a series of draft Implementing Decisions on the equivalence with the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation of the credit rating regimes of certain non-EU countries. The Implementing Decisions for Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Singapore and Australia repeal the existing equivalence decisions of the credit rating legislation in these countries, stripping these regimes of their equivalent status. The Implementing Decisions for Mexico, the US, Japan and Hong Kong confirm the equivalence of such countries' credit rating legislation.
Read more. -
EU Supervisory Authorities Finalize Proposed Revisions to Implementing Technical Standards for Mapping of External Credit Ratings
05/20/2019
The Joint Committee of European Supervisory Authorities has published a Final Report and final draft amending Implementing Technical Standards on the mapping of External Credit Assessment Institutions' credit assessments under the Capital Requirements Regulation. The Joint Committee comprises the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. The publication of the Final Report follows the consultation conducted by the ESAs between October 26, 2018 and December 31, 2018.
Read more. -
UK Allows Post-Brexit Endorsement of Credit Ratings From the EU
03/15/2019
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a statement confirming that the EU regime for credit rating agencies is "at least as stringent" as the U.K.'s regime, post-Brexit. The U.K. CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may use credit ratings for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime. The FCA considers that the EU regime meets the conditions for endorsement. This will allow U.K.-registered CRAs to endorse credit ratings into the U.K. from EU affiliates for regulatory use under the U.K. CRA Regulation. The European Securities and Markets Authority has announced today that the U.K. regime has been positively assessed for endorsement under the EU CRA Regulation.
In addition, in preparation for a no-deal Brexit, the U.K. is establishing (i) a conversion regime for U.K. and third-country CRAs currently registered or certified by ESMA; and (ii) a temporary registration regime for newly established U.K. entities that are part of a group of CRAs with an existing ESMA registration before exit day.
View the FCA's statement on endorsement of EU credit ratings.
View details of ESMA's statement on endorsement of U.K. credit ratings. -
EU Positive Assessment of UK Post-Brexit Regime Paves Way for Endorsement of UK Credit Ratings
03/15/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a further statement on the implications of a no-deal Brexit for U.K. credit rating agencies. The CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may use credit ratings only for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by: (i) an EU CRA registered with ESMA; or (ii) a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime or the equivalence/certification regime. U.K. CRAs will lose their EU registration when the U.K. leaves the EU on a "hard Brexit."
Read more. -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Final Guidelines on Submission of Information by Credit Rating Agencies
02/12/2019
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its final guidelines on the periodic information that credit rating agencies should submit to ESMA. The guidelines amend the existing requirements that are intended to structure and specify more clearly the information that agencies should submit to ESMA to enable it to carry out its supervisory activities. The information submitted by CRAs also allows ESMA to calculate their supervisory fees and market share.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
UK Draft Regulations on Credit Ratings in Preparation for Brexit
11/30/2018
HM Treasury has laid before Parliament the draft Credit Rating Agencies (Amendment, etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 to onshore the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation for Brexit. This follows the publication of related explanatory information on October 8, 2018.
The EU CRA Regulation regulates CRAs established in the EU. The European Securities and Markets Authority directly supervises EU CRAs registered with it under the CRA Regulation. The CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may only use credit ratings for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by: (i) an EU CRA registered with ESMA; (ii) a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime; or (iii) a third-country CRA under the equivalence/certification regime. Endorsement allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA to be used for regulatory purposes in the EU, provided that the rating has been endorsed by an EU CRA. The equivalence/certification regime allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA in relation to a third-country entity or financial instrument to be used in the EU for regulatory purposes. It does not cover ratings issued by a third-country CRA for an EU entity or a financial instrument issued in the EU.
Read more. -
UK Conduct Regulator Publishes Second Consultation on Brexit-Related Changes to Its Rulebook and Binding Technical Standards
11/26/2018
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a second consultation on proposed changes to the FCA Handbook and guidance to ensure a functioning legal and regulatory framework for financial services in the event of a "no-deal" scenario whereby the U.K. exits the EU on March 29, 2019 without a ratified Withdrawal Agreement in place and there is consequently no transitional period for firms. The proposed amendments will not take effect on exit day if the U.K. enters into a transitional period.
The consultation includes the FCA's further proposals in relation to those Binding Technical Standards that it has been empowered by HM Treasury to amend prior to Brexit and to maintain afterwards. Since the FCA's first consultation on Brexit-related Handbook changes in October 2018, HM Treasury has published further policy notes and/or financial services "onshoring" statutory instruments with proposed amendments to retained EU law. Many of the FCA's proposals on the BTS are consequential in nature and follow the amendments proposed in the statutory instruments.
Read more. -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Report on Credit Rating Agency and Trade Repository Fees
11/01/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a thematic report on the fees charged by EU credit rating agencies and trade repositories for their services. Under the Credit Ratings Agencies Regulation, CRAs must ensure that fees for their services are non-discriminatory and based on actual costs. Under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation, trade repositories must provide non-discriminatory access to their services and publically disclose their fees, which should be cost-related. ESMA directly supervises both CRAs and trade repositories that are established in the EU.
Read more. -
EU Supervisory Authorities Propose Revisions to Implementing Technical Standards for Mapping of External Credit Ratings
10/26/2018
The Joint Committee of the European Securities Authorities (that is, the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) has published a consultation paper setting out proposed revisions to Implementing Technical Standards on the mapping of External Credit Assessment Institutions' credit assessments under the Capital Requirements Regulation.
The proposed revisions will amend the existing Implementing Regulation ((EU) 2016/1799), which sets out how ECAIs' credit assessments should be "mapped" to credit quality steps for the purposes of calculating capital requirements. The proposed amendments reflect the result of a monitoring exercise on the adequacy of mappings, which necessitates amendments related to: (i) the re-allocation of the credit quality steps for two ECAIs; and (ii) changes in credit rating scales/types for ten ECAIs. The consultation webpage also contains mapping reports for each of the 11 ECAIs concerned.
Comments on the consultation are invited by December 31, 2018. Respondents are asked to provide comments via the "Send your comments" button on the EBA's consultation webpage.
View the consultation paper.
View the EBA's consultation webpage. -
UK Conduct Regulator Consults on Brexit-Related Changes to Its Rulebook and Binding Technical Standards
10/10/2018
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published its first consultation on proposed changes to the FCA Handbook to ensure a functioning legal and regulatory framework for financial services in the event of a "no-deal" scenario whereby the U.K. exits the EU on March 29, 2019 without a ratified Withdrawal Agreement in place and there is consequently no transitional period for firms. The proposed amendments will not take effect if the U.K. enters into a transitional period after exit day.
The consultation includes the FCA's proposals in relation to the Binding Technical Standards it has been empowered by HM Treasury to amend prior to Brexit and to maintain afterward. These are the retained EU "Level 2" delegated and implementing regulations that set out regulatory technical standards and implementing technical standards. The consultation also sets out the FCA's proposed approach to non-legislative "Level 3" materials such as guidelines, recommendations and opinions that will also be onshored.
The FCA states in the consultation that the majority of the proposed changes are consequential in nature and follow the amendments to retained EU law that HM Treasury is proposing, as set out in the series of financial services-related statutory instruments being made under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
Read more. -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Its 2019 Priorities
10/01/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its Annual Work Programme for 2019, dated September 26, 2018. ESMA sets out its focus areas for 2019 and provides details of expected outputs within each of the areas. ESMA also indicates that a number of pieces of EU legislation may be reviewed. These include the Market Abuse Regulation and the clearing obligation under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, in addition to the reviews that have already been announced.
Read more. -
US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Issues Guidance with Respect to Implied Sovereign Support
08/28/2018
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued guidance to OCC-supervised institutions with respect to the role of informal or implied expressions of support from foreign governments in determining credit risk ratings.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
Five EU Banks Fined for Issuing Credit Ratings Without Authorization
07/23/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has fined five EU banks for issuing credit ratings without being authorized to do so by ESMA. The Credit Rating Agencies Regulation requires firms to register with ESMA as a Credit Rating Agency before issuing credit ratings to ensure that such ratings are independent, objective and of adequate quality.
ESMA found that the banks had each issued credit research to their clients that included shadow ratings and opinions. ESMA deemed that these aspects of the reports amounted to a credit rating as defined in the CRA Regulation. None of the five banks have been authorized by ESMA under the CRA Regulation, nor have any of them applied for such authorization.
The banks have a right of appeal to the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities.
View ESMA's press release and decision notices. -
EU Consultation on Revised Guidelines on Periodic Reporting by Credit Rating Agencies
07/19/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on proposed revised Guidelines on periodic reporting by credit rating agencies. Under the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation, ESMA is responsible for direct supervision of EU CRAs registered with it. ESMA wishes to update its existing Guidelines, first published in 2015, to better reflect ESMA's supervisory powers and duties. In particular, ESMA does not consider that the current approach of determining reporting requirements according supervisory fees matches its risk-based approach to supervision. ESMA is proposing to establish reporting categorizations for CRAs as well as reporting calendars based on reporting categorization. Furthermore, ESMA is proposing to standardize the reporting templates and to provide additional reporting instructions.
The consultation closes on September 26, 2018. ESMA intends to publish the Final Report on the Guidelines before the end of 2018.
View the consultation.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
Final EU Guidelines Clarify the Third-Country Endorsement Regime for Credit Ratings
07/18/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a final report on the application of the endorsement regime under the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. The report contains ESMA's feedback statement for its earlier consultation on draft supplementary Guidelines as well as the final supplementary Guidelines.
The CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may only use credit ratings for certain regulatory purposes if a rating is issued by: (i) an EU CRA registered with ESMA; or (ii) a third-country CRA under the endorsement regime or the equivalence/certification regime. Endorsement allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA to be used for regulatory purposes in the EU provided that the rating has been endorsed by an EU CRA. The CRA Regulation sets out various conditions for such an endorsement.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Annual Report
06/19/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its Annual Report, dated June 15, 2018. The report sets out ESMA's key achievements against its 2017 objectives of promoting supervisory convergence, assessing risks to investors, markets and financial stability, completing a single rulebook for the EU financial markets and directly supervising trade repositories, credit rating agencies and third-country CCPs. The report also discusses ESMA's contributions to the work of the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities.
The report does not consider the focus areas for ESMA in 2018, which are set out in ESMA's work programes. However, ESMA indicates that in 2018 it will be, among other things: (i) issuing further opinions on pre-transparency waivers under the Markets in Financial Instruments package; (ii) engaging with credit rating agencies and trade repositories on their strategy, governance, operational matters and preparations for Brexit; and (iii) continuing its work to finalize the technical standards and technical advice under the EU Prospectus Regulation.
View ESMA's Annual Report. -
European Commission Adopts Revised Implementing Technical Standards on Mapping of External Credit Ratings
04/24/2018
A Commission Implementing Regulation has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Amending Regulation, which takes effect on May 15, 2018, revises a Commission Implementing Regulation adopted in October 2016 under the Capital Requirements Regulation.
Under the CRR, firms that use the Standardised Approach for the purposes of calculating their capital requirements for credit risk can use external credit assessments to determine the credit quality of exposures. These external credit assessments must be made by External Credit Assessment Institutions. ECAIs are either credit rating agencies registered under the CRA Regulation or central banks that issue credit ratings (which are exempt from the application of the CRA Regulation). The 2016 Implementing Regulation set out Implementing Technical Standards for the mapping of the credit quality of exposures (obtained from ECAIs) to their corresponding risk weights.
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities consulted in July 2017 on the need to make changes to the 2016 Implementing Regulation to reflect the fact that, since it was adopted, five additional ECAIs had been recognized and one ECAI had been de-registered. The Joint Committee submitted draft revised ITS to the Commission in December 2017 and the Commission has adopted them in the Amending Regulation.
View the Amending Regulation ((EU) 2018/634).
View details of the July 2017 consultation. -
US Federal Reserve Bank of New York Introduces Three New Reference Rates
04/03/2018
The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in conjunction with the U.S. Office of Financial Research, introduced three new reference rates. These three rates, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the Broad General Collateral Rate and the Tri-Party General Collateral Rate, are based upon overnight repurchase agreement transactions collateralized by Treasury Securities. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has previously published indicative historical data for these three new rates. In connection with the production of these new rates, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that it plans to update its International Organization of Securities Commissions statement of compliance during the second quarter of 2018 to include these rates.
View the FRB of NY's announcement.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
EU Authority Seeks to Clarify the Third-Country Endorsement Regime for Credit Ratings
03/27/2018
The European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on proposed supplementary guidance on the application of the endorsement regime under the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. The CRA Regulation provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may only use credit ratings for certain regulatory purposes where such ratings have been issued by CRAs established in the EU and registered with ESMA. Credit ratings issued in a third country may only be used for such regulatory purposes in the EU under an endorsement regime or an equivalence/certification regime. Endorsement allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA and endorsed by an EU CRA to be used for regulatory purposes in the EU. The equivalence/certification regime allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA in relation to a third-country entity or financial instrument to be used in the EU for regulatory purposes - it does not cover ratings issued by a third-country CRA for an EU entity or a financial instrument issued in the EU. However, the equivalence regime requires an affirmative assessment by ESMA and the Commission as to the legal regime for credit ratings agency in the third country.
In November 2017, ESMA published an updated version of the Guidelines on the endorsement regime, which clarified that ESMA expects an endorsing CRA to verify, and be able to demonstrate, that the third-country CRA has established internal requirements which are at least as stringent as the corresponding requirements in the relevant provisions of the CRA Regulation, or that the third-country CRA fulfills the endorsement requirements under the CRA Regulation.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
EU Authority Acts on New Third-Country Endorsement and Equivalence Regime for Credit Ratings
11/17/2017
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published updated Guidelines on the application of the endorsement regime and Technical Advice on the equivalence of certain third-country legal and supervisory frameworks under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. The CRA provides that banks, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, management companies, investment companies, alternative investment fund managers and CCPs may only use credit ratings for regulatory purposes issued by CRAs established in the EU and registered with ESMA. Credit ratings issued in a third country may be used for regulatory purposes in the EU under the endorsement regime or the equivalence/certification regime. Endorsement allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA and endorsed by an EU CRA to be used for regulatory purposes in the EU. The equivalence/certification regime allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA in relation to a third-country entity or financial instrument to be used in the EU for regulatory purposes - it does not cover ratings issued by a third-country CRA for an EU entity or a financial instrument issued in the EU.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
International Organization of Securities Commissions Reports on Other Products and Services Offered by Credit Rating Agencies
10/11/2017
The International Organization of Securities Commission has published a final report on the non-traditional products and services offered by credit rating agencies. The report follows IOSCO's consultations and other panel discussions with CRAs, users of other CRA products and other market participants.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Promotes Rules Supporting the Use of Smaller Credit Rating Agencies
04/06/2017
The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a Supervisory Briefing, providing guidance to sectoral national regulators on the application of certain requirements to use smaller credit rating agencies under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. The CRA Regulation aims to create more competition in the EU credit ratings industry and includes requirements for issuers and related third parties regarding the appointment of multiple credit rating agencies to an issuance or entity. In particular, there is a double credit rating requirement for structured finance instruments, and, where this double credit rating requirement applies, issuers or related third parties must consider appointing at least one smaller CRA with no more than a 10% market share. Where it is decided that a smaller CRA will not be appointed, that decision must be documented.
The purpose of the guidance is to promote a common supervisory approach and enforcement of these requirements. The guidance clarifies which issuers and related third parties are within the scope of the requirements and provides a standard form to be used for documenting a decision not to appoint a smaller CRA. The Supervisory Briefing is not binding on regulators or market participants.
View the Supervisory Briefing.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Consults on Updating the Guidelines on the Credit Rating Agency Endorsement Regime
04/04/2017
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a consultation paper on updating the Guidelines on the application of the endorsement regime under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. Endorsement is a regime that allows credit ratings issued by a third-country CRA and endorsed by an EU CRA to be used for regulatory purposes in the EU. The consultation paper proposes two main changes to the existing Guidelines. First, where a third-country legal and supervisory framework has been positively assessed by ESMA, ESMA will no longer assume that compliance of the third-country CRA with this framework equates to compliance with requirements as stringent as those under the CRA Regulation. The endorsing CRA is expected to verify and be able to demonstrate that the third-country CRA has established internal requirements which are at least as stringent as the corresponding requirements in the relevant provisions of the CRA Regulation. Secondly, the consultation paper clarifies that ESMA has the power to request information directly from the endorsing CRA about the conduct of the third-country CRA. The consultation closes on July 3, 2017.
View the consultation paper. -
European Supervisory Authorities Publish Good Practices to Reduce Mechanistic Reliance on Credit Ratings
12/20/2016
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities published a final Report containing Good Supervisory Practices for reducing sole and mechanistic reliance on credit ratings. The ESAs consist of the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. The purpose of the Report is to reduce the sole and mechanistic reliance on credit ratings, in accordance with requirements set out in legislation such as the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation, and to ensure a level of cross-sectoral consistency in the implementation of certain elements of the CRR. The ESAs have produced the report to assist regulators supervising entities such as banks, investment firms, insurance and reinsurance undertakings and investment companies. In particular, regulators' responsibilities of monitoring the adequacy of their supervised entities credit risk assessment processes, assessing the use of contractual references to credit ratings and encouraging them to mitigate the impact of any such references. The Report provides an overview of how regulators may approach their supervisory responsibilities under the CRA legislative package.
The Report contains two sets of common good practices. In the first, the ESAs propose a general framework for the monitoring of the use of credit ratings and the treatment of references to credit ratings in credit assessments. They also suggest potential alternatives or complementary measures to ratings and also how to address issues of proportionality arising from the varying scale and complexity of supervised entities. In the second set, there are specific practices to establish a common approach for supervision of how credit ratings are used across specific business processes, in particular, where credit ratings are most in danger of being used in a mechanistic way.
View the Report.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Rating Platform Launched
12/01/2016
The European Securities and Markets Authority announced the launch of a new database, the European Rating Platform. The ERP provides access to free, up-to-date information on credit ratings that have been issued by a credit rating agency that is registered or certified by ESMA, except for those issued under the investor-pays model. The ERP enables investors and other users of ratings to compare all credit ratings that exist for a specific rated entity or instrument. It holds rating history details from July 1, 2015 onwards, press releases accompanying the rating issuances and research reports for sovereign ratings.
View ESMA's announcement.
Go to the new ERP.
TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Final Report on Validation and Review of Credit Rating Agencies' Methodologies
11/15/2016
The European Securities and Markets Authority published its final Report on Guidelines on how Credit Rating Agencies should review and validate their methodologies. The CRA Regulation requires CRAs to review their methodologies, as well as quantitative and qualitative techniques used as part of the validation of the methodologies, to ensure that they are rigorous, systematic and continuous and subject to validation based on historical experience. The Guidelines clarify ESMA’s expectation that a CRA must review its credit ratings and methodologies on an ongoing basis and at least annually. The Guidelines focus in particular on quantitative measures, and the purpose of the Guidelines is to increase the quality of such quantitative measures used by requiring CRAs to review their methodologies and to support the Regulatory Technical Standards on ratings methodologies. The Report follows a consultation published by ESMA on July 13, 2016. The Report provides a summary of the responses received and a qualitative assessment of the potential costs and benefits of the Guidelines. The Guidelines are to be translated into the official languages of the EU and will apply two months after the date of publication of those translations on ESMA’s website.
View ESMA’s Final Report.
TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
International Organization of Securities Commissions Consults on Other Products and Services Offered by Credit Rating Agencies
11/07/2016
The International Organization of Securities Commissions published a consultation paper on the use of non-traditional products or services offered by credit rating agencies. IOSCO considers that these types of products and services are important because market participants use them to make investment and other credit-related decisions and issuers and obligors use them to make decisions about whether to obtain a credit rating from a particular CRA. Examples of the products and services include private ratings, confidential ratings, expected ratings, indicative ratings, prospective ratings, provisional ratings, preliminary ratings, credit default swap spreads, bond indices, research and portfolio assessment tools. IOSCO groups these products and services into six categories, providing descriptions for each category, namely: research, private, non-final, part of rating process, outside rating process and hybrids. IOSCO is seeking views on whether the other CRA products identified in the six groups are consistent with CRAs' and their users' understanding of the CRA industry, including whether the Code of Conduct and IOSCO CRA Principles apply to other CRA products. The consultation closes on December 5, 2016.
View the consultation paper.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Commission Reports on Reporting Obligations under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation
10/19/2016
The European Commission published a report on reporting obligations under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. The Report reviewed references to external credit ratings in EU legislation and in private contracts among financial markets counterparties and outlines potential alternatives to credit ratings produced by credit rating agencies that are currently used by market participants across the EU. The alternatives examined include the use of market-based credit risk assessments, internal credit risk assessment tools and third-party credit risk assessments. The Commission concluded that there are currently no feasible alternatives to replace external credit ratings entirely. The Report reviews the credit ratings market and provides an assessment of provisions in the CRA Regulation aimed at increasing competition in the credit rating market. The Implementing Technical Standards on the mapping of External Credit Assessment Institutions (published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 12, 2016) is highlighted as promoting competition as it enables European banks and insurers to use smaller CRAs. The Commission commented that such mapping could create future opportunities for the use of smaller CRAs and possibly stimulate market development. The Report also examined the impact and effectiveness of the provisions in the CRA Regulation on governance and internal procedures; such as the prevention of conflicts of interests and alternative remuneration models.
Read more.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
US Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Revisions to Information Security Booklet
09/09/2016
The US Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued a revised Information Security booklet, which is part of the FFIEC’s IT Examination Handbook. The Information Security booklet summarizes the factors necessary to an effective information security program. The booklet sets forth updated guidelines for examiners evaluating the adequacy of information security programs of financial institutions and describes the following aspects of effective information security operations, which include (i) effective threat identification, assessment and monitoring and (ii) incident identification assessment and response. In addition, the booklet discusses assurance reports (addressing IT system design and operation) and testing of information security programs as methods to assess and achieve the effectiveness of such programs.
View FFIEC's IT Handbook.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Banking Authority Final Report on Communications under the Audit Directive
07/26/2016
The European Banking Authority published its final report on guidelines for communication between regulators supervising credit institutions and statutory auditors and audit firms carrying out the statutory audit of credit institutions. The Audit Regulation requires that effective dialogue must be established between regulators supervising credit institutions on the one hand and the statutory auditors and audit firms carrying out the audit of those firms on the other. The EBA’s guidelines include an underlying general framework that should underpin communication between regulators and auditors at all times. The guidelines include seven principles and detailed guidance relating to the main elements of effective communication. The seven principles address: (i) the scope and relevance of information shared; (ii) requests by regulators for information from auditors; (iii) the sharing of information with auditors by regulators; (iv) methods of communication and communication channels; (v) the identity, competence and knowledge of participants in the communication between regulators and auditors collectively; (vi) the frequency of information-sharing between regulators and auditors; and (vii) communications between regulators and auditors collectively (such as a group of auditors, or a professional body representing auditors) .
The guidelines will be transposed into the official languages of the EU and will apply from March 31, 2017.
View the Final Report.
TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Fines Fitch for Breach of EU Regulations
07/21/2016
The European Securities and Markets Authority issued Fitch Ratings Limited with fines totaling €1.38 million for numerous allegedly negligent breaches of the requirements relating to sovereign ratings set out in the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation.
On January 26, 2012, Fitch informed Slovenia of its intention to downgrade its sovereign rating, whilst providing no information establishing the grounds for its intention. Fitch subsequently sent such information on the following day, but, three hours after doing so, it made a public announcement of the sovereign rating downgrade. ESMA found Fitch to be in breach of the requirement under the CRA Regulation that a credit rating agency must inform the rated entity at least 12 hours before publication of the credit rating and of the principal grounds on which the order is based to give the entity an opportunity to highlight any factual errors to the CRA.
Read more. -
International Guidance on Cyber Resilience for Financial Market Infrastructures Published
06/29/2016
The Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions published Guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures. The Guidance supplements the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures and aims to assist FMIs to improve their cyber resilience. The Guidance is not intended to impose additional standards on FMIs, but rather to provide FMIs with further detail on how they can enhance their cyber resilience capabilities and limit the increasing risks that cyber threats pose to financial stability. FMIs are expected to take a risk-based approach to implementing the Guidance and to act immediately to improve their cyber resilience, taking the Guidance into account. In particular, FMIs are expected to develop plans by June 2017 to improve their capability to meet the two-hour return to operations requirements.
View the Guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures.
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European Securities and Markets Authority Update on CRA Reporting
04/27/2016
The European Securities and Markets Authority published an update on reporting obligations in relation to information on structured finance instruments which ESMA receives under the Credit Rating Agency Regulation. The CRA Regulation was originally based on the Code of Conduct Fundamentals for CRAs published by the International Organization of Securities Commissions. ESMA is required under the CRA Regulation to set up a website where information on SFIs can be published to enable reporting entities – originators, issuers and sponsor entities - to submit data files containing the relevant information in accordance with their reporting requirements. EMSA is required to issue technical instructions by July 1, 2016, to assist with the reporting obligations that will apply from July 1, 2017. ESMA has reported that it will not be in a position to receive information on SFIs from reporting entities by January 1, 2017, as it is currently unable to set up a website or issue the technical instructions. This is because there is no legal basis for funding the website. ESMA expects the new securitization legislation currently being finalized to provide clarity on the future obligations regarding reporting on SFIs.
View the update.TOPIC : Credit Ratings -
European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes 2015 Annual Report and Workplan for 2016
02/05/2016
The European Securities and Markets Authority published a report providing an overview of its 2015 supervisory work relating to Credit Rating Agencies and Trade Repositories and setting out its workplan for 2016. ESMA's focus for 2016 includes: (i) improving the quality of credit ratings; (ii) improving trade repository quality data and data access; (iii) improving CRA governance and strategy; (iv) devoting resources to its enforcement work where it is aware of facts that may be infringing regulatory requirements; and (v) enhancing international cooperation with third country supervisors.
View the report.