European Council adopted targeted amendments to the Directive MiFID II and to the Prospectus Regulation to facilitate the recapitalisation of EU companies on financial markets in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

MiFID II amendments:

The MiFID II rules have been amended to simplify information requirements in a targeted manner, while safeguarding investor protection (for example, reduction of the information on costs and charges that must be provided to professional investors and eligible counterparties).

The new rules will also allow banks and financial firms to bundle research and execution costs when it comes to research on small and mid-cap issuers. This will help to increase research on such issuers and their access to funding.

Other changes include adaptations to the position limit regime for commodity derivatives to support the emergence and growth of euro-denominated commodity derivatives markets.

Prospectus Regulation amendments:

The prospectus regulation has been amended mainly to establish a new ‘EU recovery prospectus’. This shorter prospectus will make it easier for companies to raise capital to meet their funding needs, while ensuring adequate information is provided to investors. The new regime will apply until the end of 2022.

EBA has updated its Single Rulebook with clarifications regarding the Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms (CRR) as amended by Regulation (EU)2019/876 (CRR II).

On the Official Journal of the European Union has been published the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/178 laying down technical information for the calculation of technical provisions and basic own funds for reporting with reference dates from 31 December 2020 until 30 March 2021 in accordance with Directive Solvency II. This Regulation shall apply from 31 December 2020.

International Organization for Securities Commissions (IOSCO), has carried out a review analysing government support measures (GSMs) and their impact on credit ratings and credit rating  methodologies across the three largest credit rating agencies (the “CRAs”).

The economic shock from the COVID-19 health crisis was unprecedented in magnitude and speed. In response, GSMs were rapidly deployed across the globe by jurisdictions at an exceptional scale. These measures were rolled out across fiscal, monetary, and financial channels and varied in their impact across advanced economies (AEs) and emerging market economies (EMEs).

The pandemic’s economic and market turmoil led to many credit ratings downgrades and has put credit rating agencies and their credit ratings into greater regulatory, industry and media focus.

(only in Italian)

L’IVASS, a fronte delle numerose segnalazioni ricevute da parte dei consumatori, ha pubblicato un avviso riguardante l’applicazione del c.d. “Bonus familiare”.

Una lettura dell’articolo 134, comma 4-bis, del Codice delle Assicurazioni private coerente con le finalità di tutela dei consumatori, suggerirebbe di riconoscere il beneficio del riconoscimento della classe di merito risultante dall’ultimo attestato di rischio anche in presenza di un attestato relativo alla storia assicurativa del veicolo “beneficiario” che risalga a meno di 5 anni, purché in assenza di sinistri.

Tuttavia, precisa IVASS, il tenore letterale non consente di richiedere, nell’esercizio delle funzioni di vigilanza e di tutela, un’applicazione conforme alla prospettata lettura.

(only in Italian)

Banca d’Italia con nota del 15 febbraio 2021 ha fornito gli orientamenti sull’applicazione del Regolamento Delegato (UE) n. 171/2018 sulla soglia di rilevanza delle obbligazioni creditizie in arretrato ai sensi dell’art. 178, par. 2, lettera d) CRR, che rappresentano la posizione della Banca d’Italia su come va applicata la disciplina del Regolamento Delegato.

Nello stesso documento vengono inoltre forniti chiarimenti sulle disposizioni attuative degli Orientamenti dell’EBA sull’applicazione della definizione di default.

Bank of Italy has released three new Working papers (nn. 1318-1320) and four new Occasional Papers (nn. 603-606) and the No. 61 of the Newsletter on the economic research in Bank of Italy.

• No. 1320 – Whatever it takes to save the planet? Central banks and unconventional green policies
• No. 1319 – Identifying deposits’ outflows in real-time
• No. 1318 – Can we measure inflation expectations using Twitter?
• No. 606 – The impact of the COVID-19 shock on labour income inequality: Evidence from Italy
• No. 605 – Covid-19 and official statistics: a wakeup call?
• No. 604 – TLAC-eligible debt: who holds it? A view from the euro area
• No. 603 – Changes in the employment structure and in job quality in Italy: a national and regional analysis

(only in Italian)

La Fondazione Nazionale di Ricerca dei Commercialisti ha pubblicato un documento di ricerca su “La disciplina del whistleblowing: indicazioni e spunti operativi per i professionisti”.

Il documento mira ad analizzare le similitudini e le differenze che la disciplina del whistleblowing presenta in ambito pubblico e privato. In particolare, sono esaminati gli aspetti della disciplina che impattano sulle funzioni degli organi di controllo principalmente interessati, il responsabile per la prevenzione della corruzione e l’organismo di vigilanza, i cui ruoli in alcune circostanze tendono a sovrapporsi.