The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched its 2025 EU-wide stress test and released the macroeconomic scenarios. This year’s exercise is designed to provide valuable input for assessing the resilience of the European banking sector in the current uncertain and changing macroeconomic environment. The adverse scenario is based on a narrative of hypothetical worsening of geopolitical tensions, with large, negative, and persistent trade and confidence shocks having strong adverse effects on private consumption and investments, both domestically and globally. Continue reading…

The FCA has found wholesale brokers need to enhance their systems, controls, risk awareness and training to guard against money laundering. The FCA focused on wholesale brokers in its review because of the important role they play in capital markets in facilitating deals. The regulator also engaged with other market participants to understand wider risks, issues and good practice, recognising that collaboration with and across industry is essential to delivering real improvements. This report will assist any firms involved in the capital markets to improve their controls and prevent financial crime. Continue reading…

The European Commission has requested consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) aiming to remove unfair and illegal trade practices by China in the sphere of intellectual property. China has empowered its courts to set binding worldwide royalty rates for EU standard essential patents, without the consent of the patent owner. This pressures innovative European high-tech companies into lowering their rates on a worldwide basis, thus giving Chinese manufacturers cheaper access to those European technologies unfairly. Continue reading…

As the hub for cross-border judicial cooperation, Eurojust works together with national authorities to fight organised crime. Our support and expertise helps authorities to solve complex investigations into a variety of crime types. In 2024, we saw a number of long running cases lead to joint operations that arrested suspects, seized goods and stopped criminals in their tracks. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has recently put forth a report on The Relevance of Transition Plans for Financial Stability, which looks at the role that firms’ climate transition planning and the resulting outputs – transition plans – can play for financial stability. Transition plans provide forward-looking information on how non-financial companies and financial institutions may adjust their activities in response to climate risks, which can be useful for authorities to measure and monitor climate-related financial risks. Continue reading…

The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) announced further steps to promote the adoption of its harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for more efficient processing of cross-border payments. The announcement should provide clarity to industry regarding the medium-term governance and maintenance of the harmonised data requirements during the period of global transition to the ISO 20022 messaging standard. These steps also provide impetus to industry-led efforts to develop ISO 20022 market practice guidelines for cross-border fast payments. Continue reading…

The EU continues to remain a leading global humanitarian aid donor. With more than 300 million people estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2025, the EU has on 16 January announced an initial humanitarian budget for 2025 of €1.9 billion. Continue reading…

by Andy Norton

The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has been on the regulatory horizon for some time. Yet its implications for the financial sector remain a pressing concern. As DORA has now come into effect as of 17 January, many financial institutions, burdened by legacy systems and a patchwork of software applications1, find themselves ill-prepared to meet DORA’s stringent requirements. Yet, some UK companies, especially smaller third-party ICT suppliers2, might think they’re exempt from DORA’s requirements in the wake of its EU exit. That’s not exactly the case. In fact, it’s unsurprising that 39% of organisations3 admit to feeling challenged by the UK’s increasingly complicated regulations and governance requirements; DORA is just another on a long list of regulations that firms must adhere to. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a report analysing the functioning of, and considering potential ways to address vulnerabilities in, commercial paper (CP) and negotiable certificates of deposit (CD) markets. The report identifies a number of vulnerabilities in CP and CD markets, including limited secondary market activity due to the buy-and-hold nature of these instruments, investor and dealer concentration, and opacity.  Continue reading…

Italian authorities have disrupted a sophisticated operation that was illegally exporting precious archaeological artefacts belonging to the Italian state. The criminal group worked with expert grave robbers and thieves to excavate numerous objects. Following a complex investigation lasting over several years, Italian authorities, supported by Eurojust, dismantled the organisation and arrested four suspects.

Continue reading…