October 2019 has become another milestone for a banking industry, as gradual phase-out process for its reference benchmark rate(s) has just begun. For more than 40 years in a row, the financial institutions world-wide have been using the floating market reference rates like LIBOR, EURIBOR, EONIA etc. for determining the interest costs of credits, bonds, […]

Nowadays, the banking sector is one of the most regulated industry in the world. However, until the 1970s it was not so and hence after serious disturbances on international financial markets, at the end of Year 1974 it was decided to establish Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (originally named the Committee on Banking Regulations and […]

This article will guide you through upcoming changes in regulatory area focused primarily on capital and other prudential ratios designed by European regulatory frame-work and inspired by Basel capital accords. Most recent updates will actually materialize in modified CRD and CRR measures, which will be able to tackle the potential risks in financial industry and […]

The initial version of MIFID, that came into force in 2007, was intended to be a corner-stone of EU efforts to create a single and harmonized financial market as it mainly sought to end the monopoly of US capital markets as well as to drive down the costs and connected risks for investors. However the […]

European Central Bank (ECB) The ECB is an EU institution seated in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, established in 1998.The ECB carries out specific tasks in the areas of banking supervision, banknotes, statistics, macroprudential policy and monetary policy as well as international and European cooperation. With regard to its monetary policy, the main objective is to […]

Czech National Bank The CNB is the central bank of the Czech Republic and inter alia is the supervisor of the Czech financial market and it also serves as the Czech resolution authority. CNB supervises and lays-down the rules safeguarding the stability of the banking sector, the capital market, the insurance industry, pension funds, credit […]

IFRS 9 is the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) response to the financial crisis, aimed at improving the accounting and reporting of financial assets and liabilities. IFRS 9 replaces IAS 39 with a unified standard. The mandatory effective date for implementation is January 1, 2018. IFRS 9 introduces changes across three areas with profound implications […]

The prolonged period of very low interest rates and the ensuing search for yield strategies have warranted specific monitoring of credit quality by the European Central Bank (ECB) in general and of leveraged finance exposures in particular. Borrower-friendly conditions have further translated into a weakening of deal structures (increased leverage levels, import of “covenant-lite” structures into European markets) and […]

A new accounting standard that will eliminate the distinction between operating and finance leases A change in the definition of a lease to capture all assets identified as “right-of-use” assets, creating corresponding financial liabilities After implementation, all leases will be accounted for in a similar way to finance leases today. The reason why financial authorities […]

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) has introduced a single market and regulatory regime for investment services across the 31 member states of the European Economic Area (EEA: the 28 Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). There are 3 objectives to be met by the Directive: 1) to complete […]