Capital Markets Union

European Commission published a speech by EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill on 17 April 2015, in which he highlighted the benefits of the proposed CMU.

Points of interest from the event include:

• A more detailed action plan and timetable for the CMU will be published by the Commission in summer 2015.
• The Commission is "pushing forward" to make quick progress on early projects, specifically securitisation and revising the prospectus rules.
• Support in the European Parliament for the CMU has been positive.

Read the full speech. 

EMIR

ESMA updated its Q&A on EMIR on 27 April 2015, with new answers regarding the technicalities of reporting transactions in derivatives to trade repositories.

Read the revised Q&A.

MiFID II

ESMA issued a consultation paper (“CP”) on 23 April 2015, on draft guidelines specifying criteria for the assessment of knowledge and competence of persons in investment firms that provide investment advice or information about financial instruments, investment services or ancillary services to clients.

The consultation paper proposes that such criteria should be met by attaining an “appropriate qualification” and “appropriate experience” and sets out the areas of knowledge and competence that persons need to be assessed against.

Read the full consultation paper.

Money Market Funds

The European Parliament (EP) agreed its position on Money Market Fund Regulation (MMFR) on 29 April 2015 following the plenary vote. A key change here is the removal of the proposed capital buffer from the MMFR.

Read: Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Money Market Funds

Read the text adopted by the EP.