Commenting on the progress made today on the negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, Simon Lewis, Chief Executive at AFME, said: “We welcome the progress made today on the negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. We urge the parties to reach agreement as soon as possible on transitional arrangements. Clarity is needed urgently to support an orderly transition and ensure financial stability. It is also essential to provide certainty on the status of cross-border contracts; an urgent issue that has been recognised by regulators as a priority for both the UK and EU27.” -Ends-

At the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)’s Board meeting and EGM held in Brussels on 6December, Michael Cole-Fontayn was appointed as Independent Chairman with effect from 1January 2018. Michael Cole-Fontayn is retiring from BNY Mellon this month after a 35-year career with the company, most recently as Executive Vice President, Executive Committee member and EMEA Chairman. He has served two years as AFME Chairman as the BNY Mellon Board member. Simon Lewis, AFME Chief Executive, said: “Michael is a passionate advocate for Europe’s capital markets and his dedication to AFME issues is unwavering. He has been a very engaged member of the Board since 2011, with an acute understanding of the relationship between flourishing capital markets and economic growth. I am delighted that the Board has asked him to continue to chair AFME as an independent director during this critical time for Europe’s capital markets.” Michael Cole-Fontayn said: “I am delighted to continue to help AFME’s important work shaping the policy debate around the future of Europe’s capital markets and working with our industry and regulators in support of the growth agenda. My tenure as AFME Chairman has seen challenging times for our industry in Europe. Given the current environment, AFME and its members are more dedicated than ever to promoting the “E” in AFME.” – Ends –

The Global Green Finance Council (GGFC) has today published the first version of its reference guide toglobal and regional policy initiatives on green finance. The “Global and European Green Finance Policy Directory” is authored by the GGFC, a group comprised ofglobal and regional financial industry organisations. The GGFC was founded by the Global Financial MarketAssociation (GFMA), the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), the European Banking Federation(EBF), the European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC), the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the LoanMarket Association (LMA) and the World Federation of Exchanges. Other organisations are participating asobservers, including CERES, the European Financial Roundtable (EFR) and InsuranceEurope. The purpose of the Directory is to provide policymakers and global and regional market participants with asimple reference guide to the major initiatives on green finance, sustainability and climate change beingimplemented by international and regional bodies and industry organisations. The Directory shows that green finance is: A global policy matter:We welcome the increased interest in sustainable finance initiatives by global, regional andnational policymakers; Translated into public legislative and non-legislative initiatives:Many countries and regions have published both non-legislative (People’s Bank of China guidelineson green bond issuances) and legislative (Article 173 in France on sustainable reporting) measures; Actively led by the private sector:-In excess of 15 private initiatives on sustainable finance from issues, banks, investors and infrastructure providers, including standardisation of reporting and disclosures have been created by market participants who have been very active in leading private voluntary initiatives;- More than €100bn of green bond issuance this year as of November 2017 led by private initiatives and public guidelines, from €11bn in 2013; - In excess of 10 exchanges and index providers have created sustainability indices or sustainable listing requirements. A large majority of market infrastructure providers have sustainability programmes in place. Allison Parent, Executive Director of GFMA, said: “Sustainable finance is rising up the global agenda and weare seeing increasing numbers of international initiatives that are helping to advance sustainable financethrough market, policy and regulatory innovations. This inaugural Directory is a coordinated global industryeffort to collate and present in one place most of the major initiatives promoting sustainable finance. It is oneof the first initiatives from the GGFC, which aims to act as a global representative counterparty for the officialsector on sustainable finance policy matters. GGFC recommends that market stakeholders continue to pulltogether to further promote a favourable capital markets environment for sustainable finance to prosper.” Martin Scheck, Chief Executive of ICMA, said: “The Global and European Green Finance Policy Directory is aremarkable central resource outlining the many market-based and governmental initiatives arising in therapidly developing sustainable finance market. It provides the kind of practical information that will be muchappreciated by policy makers and market participants alike as they work to grow the sustainable financemarket - and especially to fund further progress on climate change mitigation. The Directory also illustratesthe important contributions that the recently created GGFC is making to facilitate the internationaldevelopment of sustainable finance.” The document includes: Recent policy developments at global (e.g. G20, FSB, United Nations, OECD), European (e.g.European Commission and Parliament) and Asian (e.g. China, HK, India) levels; A specific section on the sustainability risk analysis and disclosure, including a table, examples andlinks to the various initiatives; Examples of sustainability indices and exchange listing requirements; The document is a public online resource and is intended to be regularly updated to reflect legislative andnon-legislative developments in the area. The document is available here. – Ends –

Press release also available in: French, German, Italian, Spanish The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has today published a new report highlighting the significant impact that key elements of the Commission’s Risk Reduction Measures (RRM) legislative package can have on Europe’s capital markets and the real economy. The report entitled The links between the Risk Reduction package and the development of Europe’s capital markets explains why the legislative proposals presented by the European Commission in November 2016 should not be considered in isolation, but rather in light of the significant links they have with capital markets and the broader economy. Stefano Mazzocchi, a Managing Director and Deputy Head of AFME’s Brussels office, said: “The Commission’s Risk Reduction Measures package represents an important further step towards the completion of the regulatory efforts aimed at strengthening the resilience of banks and consolidating the stability and soundness of the financial system. It is therefore broadly supported by AFME and its members. At the same time, if some of the key elements of the legislative package are not addressed, it could have significant negative implications for market liquidity and run counter to the Commission’s objective of further developing Europe’s capital markets. As such, our latest report sets out to illustrate what a more appropriately calibrated approach could look like.” Matti Leppala, Secretary General of PensionsEurope, welcomed the report and said “International and EU banking legislation (in particular NSFR and Leverage Ratio) should recognize the potential effects on end users. In this context, it is important for instance that high quality governments bonds are recognised as collateral in derivative transactions in order to improve financial stability and reduce liquidity risks for, amongst others, pension funds. More generally, a granular assessment of the implications of the banking reforms for market participants is important.” The report sets out 8 clear case studies which explore the potential impact of the RRM on capital markets, products and transactions – which are crucially important for market liquidity and for the end-users of capital markets – and presents proposals aimed at achieving a more proportionate treatment. The report also gives a concise overview of the elements of the RRM package which are particularly significant for capital markets, such as the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) and the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB). All these components are necessary and supported by AFME, however, without reconsideration of some specific aspects - including their calibration, the timing of their introduction, as well as safeguards for globally consistent implementation - the negative impact on the end-users of capital markets, and on the objective of developing deeper and more liquid bond and equity markets, would be significant. The full report can be downloaded here.

Following the publication today of the report by the European Commission’s Expert Group on the functioning of European Corporate Bond Markets, Victoria Webster, Director of Fixed Income at AFME, said: “The uniqueness of this report lies in looking at the European corporate bond markets from the perspective of issuers, investors, intermediaries and infrastructure providers. We hope the full list of 22 recommendations will be taken on board by national and European authorities and look forward to hearing how they intend to follow up on them.”AFME, as a member of the expert group which was set up with a view to improving the efficiency and resilience of corporate bond markets, contributed to the report reviewing the functioning of the European corporate bond markets, in the context of building a Capital Markets Union.To put together the report, the expert group looked at recent changes in European corporate bond markets and the principal drivers of those changes.The headline report and supporting analytical report have resulted in 22 recommendations, across the following six objectives: Making issuance easier for companies; Increasing access and options for investors; Ensuring the efficiency of market making and intermediation; Fostering the development of new forms of trading; Ensuring an appropriate level of information and transparency; Improving the supervisory and policy framework. - ENDS -

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has today responded to the European Commission’s Consultation on Post-Trade in a Capital Markets Union (CMU). This important consultation will help the Commission determine the needs and priorities in European post-trade reform. Werner Frey, Managing Director, Post Trade at AFME, said: “The European Post-Trade Forum (EPTF) Report and this consultation are an important milestone in much-needed European post-trade reform. As a next step, we are very much in favour of dismantling the narrowly defined EPTF Barriers with a view to promoting the global competitiveness of European capital markets. At the same time, a strategic plan for a comprehensive European post-trade reform should be developed.” AFME’s consultation response finds that there are two interrelated parallel processes required to successfully promote European post-trade reform and a well-functioning CMU: the swift dismantling of the EPTF Barriers that have deliberately been narrowly defined to facilitate the implementation of the proposed solutions in the CMU context; and the development and implementation of a longer-term strategy for comprehensive European post-trade reform. With respect to dismantling the EPTF Barriers, AFME: strongly supports the EPTF Report, its analysis and proposed solutions; advocates the inclusion of all prioritised EPTF Barriers in the CMU Action Plan; proposes to continue the close and institutionalised cooperation between the public and the private sector to monitor the dismantling of all EPTF Barriers; believes that the dismantling of the EPTF Barriers should start without delay and therefore should not be made dependent e.g. on possible future benefits derived from technological developments such as DLT or the outcome of Brexit negotiations; suggests intensifying the dialogue with Member States in a bespoke and targeted manner as part of the aforementioned public-private partnership. With respect to the development and implementation of a longer-term strategy for comprehensive European post-trade reform, AFME: stresses the importance of progress on the EPTF barriers emphasizes that progress on the EPTF barriers will facilitate longer-term strategic steps refers to the AFME Post-Trade White Paper proposes the setup of a strategy group by the European Commission, the mandate of which should inter alia include:-the definition and the objectives of a comprehensive European post-trade reform;-an assessment of the likely impact of technological developments, based on an analysis to be performed of the conditions precedent, such as the legal and regulatory framework for such technological developments;-an assessment of the degree to which the successful dismantling of the EPTF Barriers achieves the defined objectives; -an analysis in regard of the timeliness of current post-trade processes including their rationale; -high level proposals for achieving the defined objectives. AFME finds that the following areas in particular require more in-depth work: systemic risk /risk transmissions in the settlement space harmonisation of tax processes collateral management AFME’s full consultation response can be found here. – Ends –

AFME and IA's Equities Electronic Trading Questionnaire - version twoClick here to download The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and the Investment Association (IA) have today published an updated version of the Equities Electronic Order Handling Questionnaire incorporating the obligations and requirements set out under MiFID II. The initiative, which was originally launched in March 2016, establishes a common framework for buy-side clients to request information from electronic trading providers in the European equity markets. The Questionnaire assists in facilitating the fair and accurate sharing of information on the operation of algorithms between investors and their broker-dealers. Through this process, it aims to enable safer and more efficient algorithmic trading. Since its launch, the initiative has gained increasing traction as market participants recognise the benefits of having a standard framework. April Day, Managing Director, Equities at AFME, said: “With MiFID II due to be implemented in January 2018, the Questionnaire covers electronic trading practices, including how an individual firm’s processes and decision-making frameworks facilitate best execution. Expanding on the requirements last set out in ESMA’s guidelines on systems and controls for automated trading, we have updated our Questionnaire to incorporate the obligations and requirements which are applicable under the new regime. The aim is to ensure that it remains a useful way to efficiently manage the exchange of important information on electronic order handling and dissemination of change notices.” Ross Barrett, Capital Markets Specialist at the IA, said: “This initiative is a best practice example of the Buy and Sell Sides successfully coming together to improve the practices involved in algorithmic trading. We have updated the Questionnaire to ensure that as soon as MiFID II comes into effect both sides can continue to benefit from the standard framework it offers. The publication of this Questionnaire is one example of how the industry is taking the initiative to improve the transparency and efficiency of markets to the benefit of the end investor.”Split into seven sections, the questionnaire covers best execution, trading venue selection, algorithmic trading, non-displayed liquidity, transaction cost analysis, client confidentiality and risks and controls.The scope of the Questionnaire is limited to equity/equity-like European Economic Area (‘EEA’) securities which are traded through a firm based in the EEA that is a regulated firm under MiFID and associated national laws, unless otherwise specified.The full Questionnaire can be found on both AFME and the IA’s websites. – Ends –

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has today signed up to the Women in Finance Charter. The Charter aims to improve gender balance at all levels in financial services, with a particular focus on senior management. Simon Lewis, Chief Executive at AFME said: “We are proud to be joining many of our member firms in signing up to the Women in Finance Charter. The number of women at board and executive committee level is gradually improving in European financial services, although there is still much work to do in boosting female representation. We believe that being more representative of society brings benefits across the board, from better workplace culture through to improved financial performance.” By signing the Women in Finance Charter, AFME has pledged to: set a target of 30% female representation in senior management by January 2021; publish annual progress against this target on our website; have a member of our senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion; and have an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity. – Ends –

Following the communications by the European Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announcing Measures to Facilitate Cross-Border Implementation of the European Union's MiFID II's Research Provisions, Simon Lewis, Chief Executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, said:“The issuance of no-action relief by the SEC today and clarifications from the Commission are very much welcomed by the industry as it will ensure that EU firms continue to be able to access US research for 30 months from 3 January 2018.“Thanks to a globally coordinated effort by banks, investors and other industry participants, together with authorities, a workable solution on the provision of cross-border research has been achieved, enabling market participants to continue to provide research to all types of investors. This enhances market liquidity and is also important for equity issued by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which promotes economic growth.”– Ends –

Following the communication by the European Commission today calling for the completion of the Banking Union, Simon Lewis, Chief Executive of AFME, said: “AFME has supported the Banking Union since its inception. We fully support the Commission’s call today for the European Parliament and Member States to take political responsibility and agree on the necessary legal acts to complete Banking Union by 2019. Significant progress has already been made, thanks to the Single Supervisory Mechanism and Single Resolution Board, but we must keep up the momentum to complete this important project.”He added: “Clear improvements in financial stability safeguards have been made and banks are much less likely to fail. The Banking Union must now enable efficient internal capital allocation within cross-border banks as this allows resources to flow to where they are most needed by European households, SMEs, and corporates. A crucial next step is to allow prudential requirements to apply on a consolidated basis to banks that are subject to direct supervision of the ECB.” AFME also commented in more detail on the following aspects of the Banking Union package: On Risk Reduction through the November 2016 Banking Package: AFME supports the objective of reducing risks in the banking sector. In this context, AFME welcomes the Commission’s aim to see key risk reduction measures agreed in Europe by mid-2018, so long as these are not dependent on ongoing Basel Committee work or are inappropriately calibrated. For instance, clarity for banks on the eligibility criteria for MREL-eligible instruments and the amount of MREL required is vital to help ensure banks can continue to build up the necessary loss-absorbing and recapitalisation resources. AFME reiterates its call for the co-legislators to carefully consider elements of the RRM package that risk damaging Europe’s capital markets and market participants. The new market risk capital requirements, which are still being debated by the Basel Committee, are one example of poorly calibrated rules which could negatively impact the Capital Markets Union (CMU) project if left unchanged. We recall the need to also maintain momentum on finalising the building blocks of the CMU by 2019. AFME also wishes to highlight significant concerns on the proposed new moratorium tools for supervisors and resolution authorities referred to in today’s Communication. These depart from internationally agreed standards and could likely have a counterproductive, destabilising effect on financial markets by heightening incentives for counterparties to run from banks at the earliest sign of distress in anticipation of a moratorium being applied. On Setting up a Backstop to the Banking Union: AFME welcomes the commitment to further reinforce the financial stability of the Banking Union by seeking to create the common fiscal backstop to the Single Resolution Fund (as agreed by Member States in 2013). This is vital to provide confidence in the sources of liquidity that will be available to resolution authorities when resolving a bank. On Actions to Address Non-Performing Loans (NPLs): AFME strongly supports actions to remove impediments to the development and deepening of secondary markets for NPLs and distressed debt. We welcome in particular the consideration of measures to remove undue impediments to the transfer of loans and loan servicing by third parties, as well as proposals to improve the availability and comparability of data on NPLs. We recommend however that these should leverage the information already provided by banks through existing channels. Any additional regulatory and supervisory actions should remain targeted to deal with banks and countries with high NPL stocks. We are concerned that the inclusion of non-proportionate and ambitious prudential backstops, among other actions, could generate unnecessarily high costs to certain banks that have dealt, or are effectively dealing, with their NPL stocks, with potential consequences for loan supply. Care should also be taken to avoid multiple, overlapping requirements when new expected losses provisioning under IFRS9 become live shortly. – Ends –