The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) publishes its first Annual Statistical Report on the cost and performance of retail investment products. The Report covers Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS), Alternative Investment Funds sold to retail investors (retail AIFs) and Structured Retail Products (SRPs).
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In its first weekly meeting of 2019 Commission discusses the main political challenges ahead. The College of Commissioners held today the first weekly meeting of 2019 which was devoted to discussing the challenges of this new year. Commissioners used the opportunity to take stock and discuss the year ahead, including the European elections in May and other important milestones ahead.
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“Failing to take CSR seriously is a risk in itself”, says CEO. Airmic has put corporate social responsibility (CSR) firmly on the risk management agenda and urged its members to recognise their CSR colleagues as “valuable allies” in creating a resilient business. “Boardrooms increasingly recognise that a strong approach to corporate social responsibility is not just a good thing to do – it’s a business imperative,” Airmic’s CEO John Ludlow said. “But not enough risk professionals recognise they have an important role to play in supporting their business achieve its CSR objectives.”
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With just over three months until the UK exits the EU, the government has made preparing for a no-deal an operational priority and has issued advice to businesses urging them to be prepared. The following article is an extract from Airmic’s briefing paper on this development. How is the UK government preparing for a no-deal? The government has committed to prioritising stability for citizens, consumers and businesses, to ensure the smooth operation of business, infrastructure and public services and to minimise any disruption to the economy in the event of a no-deal.
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its Risk Dashboard, which summarises the main risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector using quantitative risk indicators. Together with the Risk Dashboard, the EBA published the results of its Risk Assessment Questionnaire, which includes the opinions of banks and market analysts on the risk outlook collected in autumn 2018. In the third quarter (Q3) of 2018, the Dashboard confirms improvements in both asset quality and capital ratios, while profitability remains subdued.
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Payments are changing at an accelerating pace. Users expect faster, easier payments anywhere and at any time, mirroring the digitalisation and convenience of other aspects of life (Bech et al (2017)). And, although paper-based payments like cheques and cash still play important roles, new technologies and market entrants are challenging the traditional bank-based payment systems (Jakobsen (2018)).
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The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. will pay more than $135 million to settle charges of improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). ADRs – U.S. securities that represent foreign shares of a foreign company – require a corresponding number of foreign shares to be held in custody at a depositary bank.  The practice of “pre-release” allows ADRs to be issued without the deposit of foreign shares, provided brokers receiving them have an agreement with a depositary bank and the broker or its customer owns the number of foreign shares that corresponds to the number of shares the ADR represents.
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) published some initial observations on the post-implementation impact of IFRS 9 on EU banks. This exercise, which builds on the two pre-implementation impact assessments published in November 2016 and July 2017, is mainly based on data extracted from institutions’ supervisory reporting. The initial observations from this exercise are consistent with the forecasts of the second EBA impact assessment report. The report also identifies some areas for ongoing scrutiny and further work from an EBA perspective.
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Author: Fergus Shiel
Pakistan’s anti-corruption court has sentenced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to a seven-year prison term for failing to account for income related to ownership of a steel mill, his second conviction since the 2016 Panama Papers investigation revealed his family’s wealth. The court also fined Sharif $25 million and barred him from holding office once more in its Dec. 24 ruling.  Sharif was acquitted in a second case. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Panama Papers investigation revealed that members of Sharif’s immediate family used offshore companies to buy expensive London properties.
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Author: Will Fitzgibbon
Government officials, arms merchants and corporations have spirited away millions of dollars from destitute West African nations through offshore tax havens, an investigation by journalists from the region and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found. Offshore companies were set up for a global engineering firm that avoided paying millions in taxes to Senegal, one of the world’s poorest countries; for a little-known entrepreneur who won a contract to build West Africa’s largest slaughterhouse and for a well-connected arms trafficker from Chad. In several cases, the companies, as well as the companies’ transactions and offshore bank accounts, were not declared or are only now being revealed in more detail.
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