Since our last publication, the House of Commons Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into household finances, and the FCA has published a consultation paper on regulatory fees and levies.

UK

House of Commons Treasury Committee launches inquiry into household finances

The House of Commons Select Committee has said that it will take a broad look at the state of UK household balance sheets, including whether households are saving adequately in the current economic environment. It will scrutinise problematic indebtedness, inter-generational issues, lifetime financial planning, and the effectiveness of the market in financing solutions and products to low income households. The first evidence session of this inquiry will be on Tuesday 14 November with Ashwin Kumar (Chief Economist, Rowntree Foundation), Michael Johnson (Research Fellow, Centre for Policy Studies), and Torsten Bell (Resolution Foundation).

House of Commons, 8 November 2017

FCA consultation on regulatory fees and levies for 2018/19

The FCA has published a consultation paper on regulatory fees and levies. The paper sets out proposed policy changes in terms of how FCA fees will be raised beginning in 2018/19. Among other proposals, the FCA states that it intends to amend tariff data and change the scope of its financial penalty scheme, and invites input into whether it should redefine credit-related income to take account of specific circumstances surrounding consumer hire agreements.

FCA, 13 November 2017

EU

EBA opinion on matters relating to other financial intermediaries and regulatory perimeter issues 

The EBA has published an opinion on non-bank financial intermediaries and regulatory perimeter issues under the CRD IV Directive and the Capital Requirements Regulation, which is addressed to the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission. Publication of the opinion is part of the EBA's work to regularly monitor credit intermediation activities outside the traditional banking system. This work takes account of other developments, including the emergence of FinTech. The opinion is based on the results of a detailed assessment across the EU of the prudential treatment of "other financial intermediaries" (OFIs). OFIs are entities carrying out credit intermediation activities that are not credit institutions or other specified types of financial entity. The results of the assessment are set out in a report, which the EBA has published alongside the opinion.

EBA, 9 November 2017

Delegated Regulation on RTS on cooperation and exchange of information for passporting under PSD2 published

Commission delegated Regulation ((EU) 2017/2055) supplementing PSD2 with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) for the co-operation and exchange of information between competent authorities relating to the exercise of the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services of payment institutions has been published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ). The Delegated Regulation includes a framework for the exchange of information between competent authorities for passporting purposes and rules as to the information that national supervisors must exchange with one another.

EBA, 11 November 2017

European Commission publishes consultation on minimum levels of bank capital to cover for future loan losses

The European Commission has published a consultation paper calling for views on the common minimum levels of capital that EU banks should set aside to cover incurred and expected losses on newly originated loans that turn non-performing. The Commission is interested in introducing minimum coverage requirements as a follow-up to the action plan to tackle the issue of non-performing loans brought out in July 2017.

European Commission, 10 November 2017