News Centre

Federal Reserve: The April 2020 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey On Bank Lending Practices

Date 04/05/2020

The April 2020 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months, which generally corresponds to the first quarter of 2020.

SEC Provides Temporary, Conditional Relief To Allow Small Businesses To Pursue Expedited Crowdfunding Offerings

Date 04/05/2020

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it is providing temporary, conditional relief for established smaller companies affected by COVID-19 that may look to meet their urgent funding needs through a Regulation Crowdfunding offering. Today's actions, which follow suggestions made by members of the SEC's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, will expedite the offering process for eligible companies by providing relief from certain rules with respect to the timing of a company's offering and the financial statements required.  To take advantage of the temporary rules, a company must meet enhanced eligibility requirements and provide clear, prominent disclosure to investors about its reliance on the relief. The relief will apply to offerings launched between the effective date of the temporary rules and Aug. 31, 2020.

EBA Updated ITS Package For 2021 Benchmarking Exercise Includes IFRS9 Template

Date 04/05/2020

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an update to its Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on benchmarking of internal approaches. The updated ITS include all benchmarking portfolios that will be used for the 2021 exercise. The main novelty is the inclusion of the IFRS9 template. The benchmarking exercise is an essential supervisory tool to enhance the quality of internal models, which is particularly important in a stressed economic situation.

IMF Executive Board Approves A US$226 Million Disbursement To Cameroon To Address The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

Date 04/05/2020

• The IMF approved a disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) of
• US$ 226 million to support the authorities’ efforts in addressing Cameroon’s urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the terms of trade shocks from the sharp fall in oil prices.
• The IMF also approved the authorities’ request for an extension of the ECF arrangement, due to expire on June 25, 2020, to September 30, 2020 with a rephasing of access.
• To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the government has taken several actions to contain the spread of the pandemic, increase health spending, strengthen existing social safety nets and provide support to affected businesses and households.

EBA Launches Additional EU-Wide Transparency Exercise

Date 04/05/2020

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today an additional EU-wide transparency exercise to provide market participants with updated information on the financial conditions of EU banks as of 31 December 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EBA expects to publish the results of this exercise at the beginning of June. 

SIX Trading Key Figures: April 2020

Date 04/05/2020

Compared to March 2020 when the Corona crisis caused unprecedented market turmoil and record volumes, in April trading turnover on the Swiss Stock Exchange was down -47.5% and reached CHF 153.9 billion, while the number of transactions dropped by -49.3% to 8,814,521. In comparison with the corresponding period last year, trading turnover was up by +56.9% to reach CHF 737.4 billion, while the number of trades rose by +122.7% to a total of 40,006,925. The SMI® rose by +3.4% and reached 9,629.4 points at the end of April.

Scientific Beta Warns Against Design Flaws In European Commission Proposals On Climate Benchmarks And Sustainability Disclosures - This Draft Regulation Makes The Weights Of Stocks In The New Climate Indices Depend More On Their Stock Market Performance Than On Their Ecological Performance

Date 04/05/2020

In the context of the ongoing consultation on the draft delegated acts implementing the November 2019 update of the EU Benchmarks Regulation, the smart beta index provider Scientific Beta takes exception to key provisions of the European Commission's projects and puts forward remedial proposals.

EBA Publishes Final Draft Technical Standards On Specific Reporting Requirements For Market Risk

Date 04/05/2020

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on specific reporting requirements for market risk. These ITS introduce the first elements of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) into the EU prudential framework by means of a reporting requirement. The ITS are expected to apply from September 2021.

BIS: Dealers' Insurance, Market Structure, And Liquidity

Date 04/05/2020

Focus

Many financial markets operate through dealers, market-makers, or similar intermediaries that promote liquidity in over-the-counter (OTC) markets. Following the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-09, clearing of standard derivatives contracts through a central counterparty (CCP) became mandatory. Through novation, CCP clearing reduces counterparty risk and reinforces market liquidity and stability. However, the effects of these reforms on the structure of the markets in which they are implemented have been little studied.

EBA Publishes Final Guidelines On The Methodology To Determine The Weighted Average Maturity Of Contractual Payments Due Under The Tranche Of A Securitisation Transaction

Date 04/05/2020

The European Banking Authority (EBA) publishes today its final Guidelines on the determination of the weighted average maturity (WAM) of the contractual payments due under the tranche of a securitisation transaction, as laid down in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). These Guidelines  aim at ensuring that the methodology applicable for the determination of the WAM for regulatory purposes is sufficiently transparent and harmonised in order to increase consistency and comparability in the own funds held by institutions.