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The latest proposal from EU cybersecurity agency ENISA concerns an EU certification scheme (EUCS) which vouches for the cybersecurity of cloud services and determines how governments and companies in the bloc select a vendor for their business. The document retains key provisions contained in earlier drafts such as a requirement that U.S. tech giants set up a joint venture with an EU-based company to qualify for the EU cybersecurity label. Another provision states that cloud service must be operated and maintained from the EU, while all cloud service customer data must be stored and processed in the EU, with EU laws taking precedence over non-EU laws regarding the cloud service provider. The latest draft sets out the possibility for these tough requirements to be extended to the third highest security level. EU countries are now reviewing the latest draft after which the European Commission will adopt a final scheme.

Persons: OpenAI's, CCIA, ENISA, Alexandre Roure, Foo Yun Chee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: European, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, EU, Tech, European Banking Federation, European Savings Banks Group, Association for Financial Markets, Federation, Insurance, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, European Union, EU, Europe

☆ Hedge funds help fill bond-buying void left by central banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Weinberg said hedge funds accounted for roughly 40% of turnover in German securities. Other debt agency officials said regulation following the global financial crisis had prompted banks to be more cautious about investing in bonds, which also left hedge funds with greater scope to buy into fixed income markets. UK debt management office head Robert Stheeman said hedge funds had moved into the space left by banks in ensuring liquidity - in other words, the ease of buying and selling an asset. Mercedes Abascal Rojo, head of funding and debt management at the Spanish Treasury, urged the need for caution, however. So far, market functioning has generally been smooth, the debt agency heads said.

Persons: Heiko Becker, Thomas Weinberg, Weinberg, Robert Stheeman, Mercedes Abascal Rojo, Spain's Abascal, Dhara, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Bank of England, Association for Financial Markets, Spanish Treasury, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine, Europe's, Brussels, Central, Spain

☆ Analysis: When, not if, Europe copies Wall Street share trading reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Wall Street sign is pictured at the New York Stock exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 9, 2020. A shorter settlement time might increase efficiency, cut collateral needs, and "increase the competitiveness and the attractiveness of EU financial markets", ESMA said. ESMA is seeking views for a cost/benefit analysis of moving to at least T+1, though few believe it will not go ahead given advances in technology, regulatory pressure, and gravitational pull of Wall Street. EFAMA, a European funds industry body, says the move on Wall Street will require changes to existing IT systems for European firms and U.S. investors who trade European shares. There is already talk of moving to the next stage after T+1: instant or simultaneous settlement.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, ESMA, Pete Tomlinson, Richard Knox, Charlie Geffen, Geffen, AFME's Tomlinson, Huw Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: New York Stock, REUTERS, European, EU, U.S, Federal Reserve, Association for Financial Markets, Bankers, SWIFT Institute, CLS, Financial, UK, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, European Union, Britain, Switzerland, Europe, United States, Canada, London, Brussels, Luxembourg, Madrid, Mainland China

☆ Explainer: Boosting the City: Part Two of UK's post-Brexit finance reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Companies on the London Stock Exchange's AIM and Aquis Exchange's growth market would also be eligible. Many savers in direct contribution pension funds are years away from retirement, making it easier to make changes now without risking their pensions. The proposed Intermittent Trading Venue would be launched by the London Stock Exchange in 2024. Britain will make trading shares more efficient by ending the use of paper trails for official transaction records. The government will hold public consultations on some of the proposed pension reforms while regulators already have powers to implement other changes, such as the rules on research.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, AFME, Huw Jones, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: London, European, Companies, London Stock, AIM, ARM, London Stock Exchange, Labour Party, Labour, Thomson Locations: European Union, Britain, New York, Australia, Canada

☆ Exchanges and asset managers square off over EU market rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Stock exchanges and asset managers have squared off ahead of European Union negotiations this week over how much information investors should be given to find the best deals on Europe's fragmented stock markets. The European Parliament and EU states begin negotiations on Tuesday on finalising reform of the bloc's securities rules, known as MiFID, aimed at making its capital market more efficient now that if faces competition from a post-Brexit London. Exchanges, which earn money from market data, say parliament is going beyond transparency to give investors a trading tool. "The inclusion of real-time pre-trade data, as per the European Parliament proposal... would only further distort EU market structure," the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) said in a statement last week. The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) also backs parliament's position, saying liquidity in European stock markets has contracted by 25% since 2013 compared with a 23% rise on U.S. markets, with a number of factors contributing to this.

☆ European banks, asset managers study halving stocks settlement time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Mar 2 (Reuters) - Banks and asset managers have set up a new task-force to study whether Europe should keep up with Wall Street by halving the time it takes to settle share trades. Halving settlement in Europe would mean banks and asset managers having to reconfigure their IT systems at a cost. Last September, AFME poured cold water on an idea that would require agreement between the European Union, Britain and Switzerland to avoid fragmenting share trading. The task-force will look at whether Europe should adopt T+1 -- and if so, when -- in a bid to shape regulatory thinking. Given heavy transatlantic share trading, firms in Europe will have to make some changes to reflect the U.S. move in any case.

☆ EU lawmakers back 'prohibitive' capital rules for cryptoassets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers backed a draft law on Tuesday to implement the final leg of post-financial global bank capital rules, adding "prohibitive" requirements to cover risks from cryptoassets. The European Parliament's economic affairs committee approved a draft law to implement Basel III capital rules from January 2025, though backing several temporary divergences to give banks more time to adapt. EU states have already approved their version of the draft law, and lawmakers will now negotiate a final text with member states, with further tweaks expected. EU states have taken a more accommodative approach to when foreign banks serving customers in the bloc should open a branch, or convert a branch into a more heavily capitalised subsidiary, with EU lawmakers on Tuesday taking a harder line. The EU is keen to build up "strategic autonomy" in capital markets as it faces a competing financial centre on its doorstep after Brexit.

☆ EU readies next steps to boost its capital market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mairead McGuinness said there had been good progress in building the EU's capital markets union (CMU) but more needed to be done to ease reliance on banks for funding companies and the economy, and on London post-Brexit for clearing euro denominated swaps. "We are still over-reliant on central counterparties outside the European Union and this is also a matter of financial stability," McGuinness told an event held by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). "In the unlikely case of something going wrong, we would not be in the driving seat for decisions, so we want to increase the attractiveness of clearing in the EU," she said. The EU is watching closely steps being taken by Britain to bolster the competitiveness of its financial sector, now largely cut off from the bloc. "We realise that for the size of our economy the capital markets don't reflect that, as we rely very heavily on bank finance and that is not appropriate."

☆ Markets body urges caution on shorter settlement in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Halving settlement time for stock trades in Europe to one business day would be "challenging" and needs full analysis by regulators before any decision is taken, a markets industry body said on Wednesday. "A move to T+1 would remove the only business day between trading and settlement, creating significant pressure on post-trade operations, particularly for global participants," the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) said in a discussion paper. Authorities in Britain and the European Union, mindful of keeping their capital markets globally competitive, have already held informal discussions with industry on T+1. "An important area for further discussion will be whether or not a synchronised implementation timeline is required across Europe more broadly," AFME said. U.S. settlement house DTCC is piloting T+0 settlement.

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