Meeting of the FSB board in Hong Kong on 29-30 May
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has issued a press release following its board meeting in Hong Kong on 29-30 May 2012. At its meeting, the FSB discussed vulnerabilities currently affecting the global financial system and the progress in authorities’ ongoing work to strengthen global financial regulation. In relation to the latter the press release notes:
- The FSB reviewed the ongoing work to develop further the systemically important financial institutions (SIFI) framework, including extending it to domestic systemically important banks and establishing a process to ensure consistent implementation of the policy measures, in particular for resolvability, that apply to global SIFIs.
- The FSB reviewed the steps being taken to implement over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives reforms, on which it will shortly issue its third progress report. It also noted that in the coming weeks, standard setters will issue consultation papers on margining requirements for bilaterally-cleared derivatives transactions and on resolution of central counterparties and other financial market infrastructures.
- The FSB reviewed the ongoing work streams to strengthen the oversight and regulation of shadow banking. The FSB will publish by end-2012 an initial integrated set of policy recommendations to strengthen the regulation of shadow banking.
- The FSB approved recommendations to support the establishment of a global legal entity identifier (LEI) system that will provide a unique global identifier for parties to financial transactions.
- That FSB members approved progress reports in the following areas: OTC derivatives market reforms, Basel III implementation and implementation of the FSB Principles and Standards for Sound Compensation Practices.
View Meeting of the FSB board in Hong Kong on 29-30 May, 30 May 2012
IOSCO Consultation Report on CRAs’ internal controls
The Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a Consultation Report entitled Credit Rating Agencies: Internal Controls Designed to Ensure the Integrity of the Credit Rating Process and Procedures to Manage Conflicts of Interest. The purpose of the Consultation Report is to describe certain internal controls and procedures that credit rating agencies (CRAs) use to promote the integrity of the credit rating process and address conflicts of interest, respectively, with the aim of promoting a better understanding of these practices.
IOSCO seeks the views of stakeholders, and particularly of CRAs in order to refine and enhance the descriptions and assist in further analysis of the internal controls and procedures used by CRAs.
The internal controls and procedures described in the Consultation Report comprises six sections:
- Quality of the rating process.
- Structural support to ensure the quality of the rating process.
- Monitoring and updating.
- Integrity of the rating process.
- Managing firm-level conflicts.
- Managing employee-level conflicts.
Reponses to the Consultation Report are requested by 9 July 2012.
View IOSCO Consultation Report on Credit Rating Agencies’ internal controls, 25 May 2012
Proposal for a Regulation amending the CRA Regulation - General approach
The Council of the European Union (the Council) has published its general approach in relation to the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies (the CRA Regulation). This document includes the amendments to the proposed Regulation that were announced by the Council on 21 May 2012.
The proposed Regulation is sometimes referred to as CRA III and is intended to amend the CRA Regulation to strengthen existing EU legislation on CRAs. In particular, CRA III is intended to reduce over-reliance by financial institutions on external credit ratings and impose additional requirements on CRAs relating to sovereign debt ratings.
View Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies - General approach, 27 May 2012
CRA Delegated Regulations published in the Official Journal
The following Delegated Regulations establishing regulatory technical standards for credit rating agencies have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union:
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 446/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on the content and format of ratings data periodic reporting to be submitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority by credit rating agencies.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 447/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on credit rating agencies by laying down regulatory technical standards for the assessment of compliance of credit rating agencies.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 448/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the presentation of the information that credit rating agencies shall make available in a central repository established by the European Securities and Markets Authorities.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 449/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on information for registration and certification of credit rating agencies.
View Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 446/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on the content and format of ratings data periodic reporting to be submitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority by credit rating agencies, 30 May 2012
View Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 447/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on credit rating agencies by laying down regulatory technical standards for the assessment of compliance of credit rating agencies, 30 May 2012
View Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 448/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the presentation of the information that credit rating agencies shall make available in a central repository established by the European Securities and Markets Authorities, 30 May 2012
View Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 449/2012 of 21 March 2012 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on information for registration and certification of credit rating agencies, 30 May 2012
Revised version of the Financial Services Bill published
On 23 May 2012, the Financial Services Bill (the Bill) received its first reading in the House of Lords. Following this reading, Parliament has now published a revised version of the Bill on its website. This version of the Bill shows the minor amendments that have been made to the previous version of the Bill, which was published on 10 May 2012. The amendments:
- Clarify which persons can make a super-complaint reference to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is achieved by inserting new sections 234C and 234D into the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
- Require the Bank of England to report to HM Treasury on how it is complying, or how it intends to comply with a direction made by HM Treasury. This amendment was made to clause 58 of the Bill.
- Provides for the transfer of consumer credit regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the FCA, including the transfer of property, rights and liabilities. This is achieved by a new Part 2 to Schedule 21 of the Bill.
View Financial Services Bill - As brought from the Commons on 23rd May 2012, 25 May 2012
View Financial Services Bill - Explanatory notes, 25 May 2012
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill published
On 23 May 2012, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (the Bill) was presented to Parliament. The Bill is intended to deliver legislation that will encourage long term growth by:
- Improving the employment tribunal system by persuading parties to come together to settle their disputes before an employment tribunal claim is lodged.
- Establishing a new Competition and Markets Authority, combining the functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. This should make competition processes faster with clearer timeframes bringing greater certainty and reduced burdens on business.
- Setting the purpose of the UK Green Investment Bank in legislation. This will include embedding its operational independence and providing Government with a specific power to finance it.
- Addressing the disconnect between directors' pay and long-term company performance by giving shareholders of UK quoted companies binding votes on directors remuneration. The Bill repeals section 439 (5) of the Companies Act 2006, removing the statutory provision which currently prevents the statutory requirement for a vote on the directors' remuneration report having the effect of making a person's entitlement to remuneration contingent on the outcome of the shareholder resolution.
- Preventing the importation and sale of unauthorised replicas of class designs which qualify for copyright protection.
The Bill will now begin its passage through the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
View Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill published, 23 May 2012
View Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (HC Bill 7), 23 May 2012
View Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill - Explanatory notes, 23 May 2012
Policy Statement 12/11: Consolidated Policy Statement on our fee-raising arrangements and regulatory fees and levies 2012/13
The FSA has published Policy Statement 12/11: Consolidated Policy Statement on our fee-raising arrangements and regulatory fees and levies 2012/13 (PS12/11). PS12/11 provides a summary of the FSA’s policy in relation to its fee-raising powers under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. PS12/11 contains two parts:
- Part A. This part contains the Consolidated Policy Statement on the FSA's fee-raising arrangements, which explains how the FSA allocates its costs and recovers them from firms through fees and levies. This part also includes the levies of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the Financial Ombudsmen Service (FOS) and the Money Advice Service (MAS).
- Part B. This part contains the final 2012/13 FSA periodic fee rates and the FOS and MAS levies that were consulted on in CP12/3: Regulatory fees and levies – Rates proposals 2012/13 (CP12/3). This part also includes the final policy changes that the FSA consulted on in CP12/3 where it has not already provided feedback.
In an accompanying press release, the FSA states that it has reduced the amount that firms will be required to pay to the FSA in fees. PS12/11 confirms that the final 2012/13 annual funding requirement (AFR) is £559.8m which is £18.6m lower than the estimate in CP12/3. This reduction is the result of internal cost controls which reduced potential IT spend and the return of contingency monies set aside for use only in the event that the FSA needed to deploy extra resources to deal with extreme macro-economic and regulatory events.
The press release also states that the Financial Penalties Discount has increased. Financial penalties received for 2011/12 totalled £70.7m, compared with an estimate of £58.7m. The enforcement fines that the FSA imposes during the previous year are returned to the industry by way of discounts to the AFR in the following year. Therefore, the actual amount invoiced will be £489.1m.
View Policy Statement 12/11: Consolidated Policy Statement on our fee-raising arrangements and regulatory fees and levies 2012/13, 29 May 2012
View FSA confirms its regulatory fees and levies for 2012/13, 29 May 2012
FSA consults on lowering its projection rates
The FSA has published a joint Consultation Paper with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on rules that are intended to ensure that investors taking out a retail investment product such as a personal pension or a life policy receive a realistic indication of potential future returns and charges.
In the Consultation Paper the FSA is consulting on:
- Updating the mortality assumption to be used when illustrating a personal pension.
- Introducing a separate Consumer Prices Index (CPI) assumption for transfer value analysis (TVA) when benefits under a detailed benefit pension scheme are compared with the possible benefits under a personal pension scheme.
- Changes to the investment return assumptions (projection rates) in the Conduct of Business sourcebook (COBS).
The deadlines for comments on the FSA’s part of Consultation Paper are:
- Chapter 2 – mortality assumptions: 29 June 2012.
- Chapter 3 – transfer value analysis: 31 August 2012.
- Chapter 4 – investment return assumptions: 31 August 2012.
The FRC is also consulting on possible changes to the assumptions used for Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations, to make them more consistent with the FSA assumptions in COBS (as amended in the fourth chapter of the Consultation Paper).
The deadline for comments on the FRC part of the Consultation Paper is 31 August 2012.
Sheila Nicoll (Director of conduct policy, FSA) said:
"Investors need to be able to trust information they receive and any suggestion as to how their investment might grow in future must not be misleading. We are proposing lower growth rates which firms may use but we are reinforcing the fact that these are maximum levels. Providers and advisers need to take a long, hard look at the rates they use, taking account of the underlying assets they are dealing with."
View FSA consults on lowering its projection rates, 31 May 2012
FSA enforcement
The director of an IFA has been fined £60,000, had his approval withdrawn and been prohibited for advising clients to invest in Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS) and other complex unregulated investments when these were unsuitable, in breach of Statements of Principle 2 and 7. He did not understand the regulatory restrictions on the promotion of UCIS or the products he recommended. He did not adequately assess whether the investments met clients’ objectives (including whether they were able to bear investment risks) or whether they understood the risks. He did not take reasonable steps to ensure he obtained necessary customer information. He also failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the firm complied with regulatory requirements including restrictions on the promotion of UCIS. After the FSA asked the firm to stop selling UCIS, he permitted further business to be completed and continued to do so even after he had confirmed to the FSA that he would stop selling. The FSA noted that, although he may have honestly believed he was doing his best for customers, he advised many of them to invest a significant proportion of their funds in illiquid, complex and higher risk investments which are not covered by FSCS and that some of his clients were vulnerable. A reference to the Upper Tribunal was withdrawn.
View FSA Final Notice - Patrick Francis O'Donnell, 24 April 2012
The firm’s permission was also cancelled on the basis that the prohibition of its sole director left it with inadequate human resources.
View FSA Final Notice - P3 Wealth Management Limited, 24 April 2012
The CEO of a hedge fund management company has referred to the Upper Tribunal a decision to fine him £3 million, withdraw his approval and prohibit him for breaches of Statement of Principle 1 in connection with significant losses suffered by the fund (amounting to approximately 85% of its NAV or $390 million). The FSA contends that he sought to conceal the losses by lying to investors and by entering into contracts to buy units in bonds which he knew were not genuine in order to create artificial gains. In addition he procured further investment in the fund by providing information to a new investor which he knew to be false at a time when he knew that there was no realistic prospect of the investor recovering its investment. The decision notice comments that his behaviour is amongst the most serious that the FSA has ever encountered. The FSA also found that he provided false and misleading information to the FSA. Although the FSA noted that the fine was likely to cause serious financial hardship, it considered that it may not be appropriate to reduce a penalty where to do so would reduce its deterrent effect, even where this may result in bankruptcy.
View FSA Decision Notice - Alberto Micalizzi, 20 March 2012
The FSA decided to cancel the permission of the company on the grounds that it failed to ensure that its business was conducted soundly and prudently and in compliance with proper standards. The company’s compliance officer has already been prohibited and fined (Dr Sandradee Joseph, 22 November 2011).
View FSA Decision Notice - Dynamic Decisions Capital Management Limited, 20 March 2012
Australia: Will I need an AFS Licence to deal in Regulated Emissions Units? Updated draft legislation and new ASIC regulatory guide released
Previously it was proposed that "Australian carbon credit units" and "eligible international emissions units" be deemed as "financial products" under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Corporations Act). This was in line with the Australian Government’s aim to "provide a strong regulatory regime to reduce the risk of market manipulation and misconduct" in relation to such carbon products.
On 22 November 2011, the Australian Treasury issued 'exposure draft' legislation (the Previous Draft) that proposed to modify the application of the financial services regulatory regime under the Corporations Act to the above carbon products. The draft changes reflected the Australian Government's original undertaking to effect "appropriate amendments to the regime to fit the characteristics of units and avoid unnecessary compliance costs…".
In February 2012, the Australian Treasury released an updated version of the Previous Draft (the Updated Regulations). The Updated Regulations are based on the Previous Draft however there are some key differences, including the proposal to also regulate "carbon units" (the units issued by the Australian Government under the Carbon Pricing Mechanism) and clarification on the transitional arrangements. For the purposes of this article "Australian carbon credit units", "eligible international emissions units" and "carbon units" are collectively known as Regulated Emissions Units.
The Updated Regulations seek to apply existing aspects of the financial services regulatory regime under the Corporations Act to certain activities involving Regulated Emissions Units. In particular, the proposed characterisation of Regulated Emissions Units as "financial products" means that firms and intermediaries that are involved in transactions involving these products would need to assess whether such transactions would trigger the need for an Australian financial services licence (AFS Licence).
In March 2012 the Australian Securities and Investment Commission released Regulatory Guide 236: Do I need an AFS licence to participate in carbon markets which provides guidance on the AFS licensing issues regarding Regulated Emissions Units.
Norton Rose Australia has published an new online briefing note which outlines some of the key changes proposed under the Updated Regulations (although several of these changes were already contained in the Previous Draft) and briefly examines the need for an AFS licence in relation to dealings in Regulated Emissions Units.
Click here for the briefing.
For further information please contact Fadi Khoury or Elisa de Wit.
Italy: Supervisory authorities publish enforcement criteria for the new interlocking prohibition
In December 2011, the Italian Government enacted an "interlocking prohibition" under article 36 of the Italian Legislative Decree no 201 of 6 December 2012, the so-called "Salva Italia" Decree (the Decree). Pursuant to this article, persons who are members of management, supervisory and controlling bodies or top managers of a company or group (the “Relevant Person”) operating within the financial services sector (either in the credit, investment or insurance sector) are prohibited from taking on similar roles in competing companies or groups carrying out the same business, except for those companies or groups which are connected by a relationship of control, as defined under Italian competition law (i.e. interlocking positions).
If a Relevant Person holds conflicting offices contrary to the interlocking provision, he/she has a 90 day period in which they can opt to remain in only one office. However, if a Relevant Person does not make such a decision, he/she will automatically lose their office in all companies and their termination from each office will be declared within 30 days from the date of termination by the relevant company. In the event that the relevant company fails to terminate the Relevant Person’s office, then the competent supervisory authority (the Bank of Italy, the Italian securities exchange commission, CONSOB and the Italian Insurance Market Supervisory Authority, ISVAP) shall declare such office forfeit. However there is no time scale for declaring the forfeiture.
On 20 April 2012, the above mentioned supervisory authorities published a joint position paper which: explains in detail the rationale of the interlocking prohibition; provides a list of criteria for the enforcement of the same; and indicates the relevant regulations to be applied for each financial sector in the context of the application and interpretation of the interlocking prohibition.
The interlocking prohibition is aimed at preventing Relevant Persons holding strategic offices in several competing companies. The Italian legislator considers this to be a significant issue, especially in the financial services sector which tends to distort competition and hinder the development of Italian financial markets.
For more information please contact Nicolò Juvara, Davide Nervegna, or Donatella De Lieto Vollaro.
Italy: CONSOB simplifies regulations for issuers
Following extensive public consultation, on 9 May 2012 CONSOB passed Resolution 18214 relating to regulations for issuers. This is the second part of a process which began in January 2012 aimed at simplifying the regulatory framework for issuers in order to rationalise the current rules and favour market access for firms and investors. In particular, Resolution 18214 provides simplified rules relating to disclosure obligations, public offers, shareholders’ rights, and issuers of widely distributed securities. The following highlights some of the more significant changes that have been introduced.
Disclosure obligations
The following disclosure obligations have been simplified by Resolution 18214:
- Regulations regarding communications to the public and CONSOB have been unified under a single normative framework.
- Companies no longer have an obligation to comment on rumours regarding “significant circumstances and events”, but CONSOB still has the right to request that information be made public if it determines that there is a risk that the public may be misled.
- Disclosure obligations not required under the Transparency Directive regarding shareholdings have been removed (i.e., thresholds of 35 per cent, 40 per cent, 45 per cent and 75 per cent).
- Simplified regulations regarding the publication of shareholder agreements will come into force on 1 July 2013.
- Disclosure obligations for listed companies have been simplified with respect to extraordinary deals and buybacks.
- The responsibilities of managers of multilateral trading systems and systematic internalisers have been simplified to facilitate the development of trading platforms as an alternative financing source for medium sized enterprises (as compared to a listing).
Public offers
With respect to public offers, Resolution 18214 provides:
- For public offers of subscription and sale of open-ended UCITS (investments funds, SICAV) and insurance products, the minimum amount required for subscription to allow for exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus has been reduced from EUR 250,000 to EUR 100,000.
- For tender offers and exchange offers, the scope of application of the exemption from the obligation to publish a bid document for buy-backs of non-equity financial instruments has been extended.
- The procedure for tender offers and exchange offers has been simplified in that the initial disclosure required by the bidder is in general less detailed; the obligation to disclose the certification of the commitment to pay the price has been removed, as well as the obligation to inform the issuer of the bid.
- From 1 July 2013 the duty to publish the announcement of the tender offer document in a newspaper will be replaced by a more simple communication to the market.
Shareholder rights
With respect to shareholder rights, Resolution 18214 provides:
- A single threshold is introduced for the presentation of the lists relating to the nomination of members of the board (i.e., 1 per cent for all companies with capitalization ranging from EUR 1 to EUR 15 billion euro, and 2.5 per cent for companies with a lower capitalization).
- Less information has to be included in minutes of shareholders' meetings and in the publication of agreements on crossover shareholdings and related storage when they constitute duplication of the requirements already provided for under other laws.
Issuers of widely distributed securities
With respect to issuers of widely distributed securities, Resolution 18214 provides:
- The definition of "issuers of widely distributed securities" has been amended; the number of shareholders and bondholders relevant to the application of the regulation has been raised from 200 to 500.
- To publish information, issuers of widely distributed securities are now allowed to use their websites or, alternatively, an SDIR (System for the Disclosure of Regulated Information).
Click here for the full text of Resolution 18214 (in Italian and English).
For more information please contact Nicolò Juvara, Davide Nervegna or Donatella De Lieto Vollaro.
Italy: UCITS IV Directive finally implemented in Italy
Following the enactment of Legislative Decree n. 47 of 16 April 2012 (the Decree), CONSOB and the Bank of Italy, each within their respective areas of competence, have adopted the following amendments and integrations to their regulations to complete the transposition of the UCITS IV Directive:
- On 8 May 2012, the Bank of Italy adopted: (i) new Regulations on Collective Investment Schemes, repealing the old set of regulations dated 15 April 2005, and (ii) new Regulations on Depositary Bank Services for UCITS and Pension Funds. The new rules relating to depositary banks entered into force on 13 May 2012, the new Regulations on Collective Investment Schemes on 16 May 2012.
- On 9 May 2012 CONSOB adopted Resolution n. 18210, amending and integrating CONSOB Regulations on Issuers and CONSOB Regulations on Intermediaries. The new rules relating to issuers entered into force on 16 May 2012 (the day following their publication on the Official Gazette).
- On 9 May 2012, through a joint resolution entered into force on 16 May 2012, the Bank of Italy and CONSOB amended the Joint Bank of Italy - CONSOB Regulations on Organisation and Procedures for Intermediaries dated 29 October 2007.
With the implementation of the UCITS IV Directive, Italy has, inter alia, formally harmonised its regulation on the registration of foreign UCITS with the EU legal framework whereby an offeror who intends to market the units of a fund in Italy no longer needs to file an application with Consob. Obligations concerning information to be provided to investors have also been amended and now require the offeror to deliver the Key Investor Information Document instead of the “prospetto semplificato” (simplified prospectus). Certain amendments have also been made to the rules of conduct for marketing and distribution of UCITS products, including rules on inducements. In addition, new rules on harmonised asset management companies, merger of UCITS funds and SICAVS and master-feeder funds structures have been introduced in compliance with the UCITS IV Directive.
For more information please contact Nicolò Juvara or Davide Nervegna.
Hong Kong: New market entry criteria for banks
Hong Kong legislation is to be amended to remove the licensing requirement under which an applicant for a bank licence must have total customer deposits of not less than HK$3 billion and total assets of not less than HK$4 billion. Some of the restrictions on foreign banks establishing a locally incorporated subsidiary will also be removed.
The changes will take place through implementation of The Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) Notice 2012, which was gazetted on 18 May 2012. The amendments arose from a review by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which concluded that some licensing conditions under Hong Kong’s Banking Ordinance are not found in other major financial markets.
The amendments are expected to take effect from 12 July 2012.
Click here for the HKMA press release.
For more information please contact Charlotte Robins or David Lee.
Netherlands: AFM on use of benchmarks
On 30 May 2012, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM) published guidance on the use of benchmarks by investment fund managers. It is important for investors to get a good insight into the performance of an investment fund. According to the AFM the benchmark should be aligned with the investments made by the fund in relation to: (i) the kind of instrument;(ii) the currency; (iii) the region; (iv) the sectors; and (v) the dependency of performances of a specific instrument and the benchmark.
Click here for the AFM publication (in Dutch).
For further information please contact Floortje Nagelkerke.
Netherlands: Information bulletin on tests on daily management and supervisory body
On 29 May 2012, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten) published a bulletin in which they provided information on developments relating to the tests they undertake on the fitness and proprietary of daily management and the supervisory bodies (commissarissen) of a financial institution. Both regulators will keep an internal register, the Bestuurdersmonitor, in which they will register the antecedences related to a daily manager or supervisor.
Click here for the AFM publication (in Dutch).
For further information please contact Floortje Nagelkerke.
Netherlands: AFM consults on amendment to Further Regulation
On 25 May 2012, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM) issued a consultation concerning the proposed amendment to the Further Regulation Conduct of Business Financial Undertakings (Nadere Regeling gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen, Further Regulation). On 1 January 2012, the Dutch Securities Giro Act (Wet giraal effectenverkeer, Wge) was extended, so that it could offer better protection against the insolvency of an intermediary. As the scope of the Wge has been extended, the Further Regulation is being amended so that it is in line with the Wge. The consultation period ends on 22 June 2012.
Click here for the AFM publication (in Dutch).
For further information please contact Floortje Nagelkerke.
Netherlands: DNB: assets under management hit record
On 22 May 2012, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) announced that the total net assets of Dutch investment funds rose by 6.2% quarter on quarter (EUR 29.6 billion) to EUR 506.9 billion in Q1 2012. This was due to the price gains on investments and to some extent to net deposits. In the Q1 2012 net assets also rose, but by 1.2%. The number of investment funds declined slightly by 6 to 1,472 in the Q1 2012.
Click here for the AFM publication (in Dutch).
For further information please contact Floortje Nagelkerke.