Eurogroup to decide on ESM chief at Luxembourg meeting

After two rounds of voting three candidates remained in the race on Monday night for the position of director-general of the European Stability Mechanism. Luxembourg’s candidate Pierre Gramegna, a former finance minister, will have to win the support from southern European countries if he is to succeed Klaus Regling in October. A decision now is expected at the 16 June Eurogroup meeting in the Grand Duchy.

Cryptocurrency crash to bring regulation – but how much?

The collapse in the value of two cryptocurrencies linked to South Korea’s Terra blockchain has sent the crypto world aflutter. The resultant crash wiped out over USD 15 billion in cryptocurrency value, raising questions about the level of stability offered by “stablecoins” and attracting the attention of politicians and regulators worldwide. Jake Lee, chief strategy officer of Gopax, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, who knows the players involved,  shared his insights at the recent Finverse Forum conference in Luxembourg. 

As ESM's Regling steps down, Gramegna holds good cards

Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands have all put forward candidates to succeed Klaus Regling as the head of the European Stability Mechanism, the 500-billion-euro eurozone bailout fund known as ESM. On Monday, the Eurozone finance ministers are due to decide on a successor for Regling, who steps down after a ten-year tenure and leaves behind a legacy at the Luxembourg-based ESM.

Esma promises guidance on ‘astonishing’ ESG complexity

The European Securities and Markets Authority recognises the asset management industry is under pressure to meet green investing rules and is preparing more detailed guidance shortly because it believes it is ultimately worthwhile work. “In a few weeks time you will be getting more guidance from the ESAs on various topics related to the SFDR,” an official said in Luxembourg.

‘Asset managers need bigger say in applying crisis tools’ 

Europe’s asset management industry on Wednesday threw its backing behind a legislative proposal to give asset managers a bigger say in the application of liquidity management tools, or LMTs, at times of market stress. The managers, not the supervisors, should be responsible for deciding on the use of such tools,  the proposal says.

EU, UK KIDs diverge as Brexit becomes Priips factor

A case study of how EU and UK financial sector regulations will diverge is in the shifting rules around the Key Investor Document (KID), part of the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) regulation. There will be no big-bang moment, but the details are about to begin to change gradually. And influential voices are calling for more divergence. 

ESAs propose ‘simpler, user-friendly’ investment info

The European Union’s top financial supervisory bodies have told the European Commission to move towards a clearer and more effective framework for informing retail clients about costs and potential risks their run with investments, and told it to better integrate sustainability objectives into requirements for informing consumers.

Luxembourg supports single EU supervisor for markets

The European Union needs to establish a single supervisory body for financial markets in order to boost the development of market finance towards creating a true single European financial market and turning the widely-discussed Capital Markets Union plans into reality. “We should not hide away from some unpleasant truths,” said Yves Mersch, former ECB board member. 

Antwerp asset manager Merit loses brokerage licence

Antwerp-based asset manager Merit Capital will lose its Belgian brokerage licence, according to a judgement by Belgium’s Council of State published on 26 April. Merit Capital has been struggling for years with its governance model and profitability. Having its license revoked casts a cloud over its arrangement with Frankfurt-based Renell Bank, which announced in October it had agreed to acquire Merit subject to conditions.

'Side-pocketing Russian assets requires preparation'

Funds exposed to the Ukraine war have new liquidity management options following the recent publication of the CSSF’s guidance. To understand more about how the market is adapting , particularly during the current annual reporting season, we spoke to Nicolas Hennebert, partner and investment management leader audit & assurance at Deloitte Luxembourg.