On May 20, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) proposed to the European Commission (Commission) a permanent reduction to the threshold to notify net short positions on shares to EU national competent authorities (NCAs) from 0.2 percent to 0.1 percent.
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European Commission
European Commissioner Speech on AML and CTF Action Plan Reforms
On May 18, a speech by the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union was published outlining elements of the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) action plan that the European Commission (Commission) intends to present further and reform.
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ESG: European Commission Consults on Draft Delegated Regulation of Disclosure Obligations Under Taxonomy Regulation
On May 7, the European Commission (Commission) published its consultation on a draft Delegated Regulation expanding Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation ((EU) 2020/852) by specifying the disclosure obligations associated with environmentally sustainable economic activities relating to large corporations.
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AML: UK Government Publishes Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021
On March 25, the UK Government published the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/392) on its website together with an explanatory memorandum (the Regulations).
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ESG: ESAs Consult on Draft RTS on Content and Presentation of Taxonomy-Related Sustainability Disclosures Under SFDR
On March 17, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a joint consultation paper on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) regarding the content and presentation of sustainability disclosures under Articles 8(4), 9(6) and 11(5) of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ((EU) 2019/2088) (SFDR).
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European Commission Publishes Draft Delegated Act on FRANDT
On March 10, the European Commission (the Commission) published a draft delegated act detailing the obligation on clearing members and clients when providing clearing services under fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent (FRANDT) commercial terms (the Delegated Act).
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European Commission Publishes Delegated Regulations Under EMIR on Risk Mitigation and Clearing Obligation
On February 17, the European Commission (the Commission) published two Delegated Regulations amending the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) Margin Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and the Clearing Obligation RTS (the Delegated Regulations).
The key amendments proposed by the Commission in the Margin RTS include:
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European Commission Adopts Equivalence Decision With Respect to SEC Regulatory Framework for Central Counterparties
On January 27, Allison Herren Lee, the acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced the European Commission’s (EC) adoption of an equivalence decision, stating that the SEC’s regulatory framework applicable to central counterparties (CCPs) that are “covered clearing agencies” under SEC rules is equivalent to relevant European legal and regulatory requirements.
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ESMA Publishes Consultation Paper on Impact of Algorithmic Trading
On December 18, 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper to assist the European Commission (Commission) in reviewing and producing a report on the impact of requirements relating to algorithmic trading, including high-frequency trading.
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European Commission Consults on Review of CSDR
On December 8, the European Commission (the Commission) published a consultation paper on its review of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (909/2014) (CSDR) (the Consultation Paper).
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