AML
The European Banking Authority's (EBA) public consultation on four draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) that will be part of the EBA's response to the European Commission's Call for Advice on RTS that must be developed by the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) closes on 6 June 2025.
The four proposed RTS focus on:
- How AMLA will decide which institutions will be subject to direct AMLA supervision.
- How the ML/TF risk associated with each institution will be determined.
- The extent and quality of information that institutions will have to obtain as part of the customer due diligence process under the new AML/CFT regime. The EBA is proposing a framework within which institutions can choose the most appropriate approach if that approach complies with the new AML Regulation. For example, the EBA lists the types of documents and sources of information that institutions should consult, rather than specifying the documents and sources themselves.
- Indicators and criteria to be taken into account when setting the level of pecuniary sanctions or taking administrative measures (including developing a methodology on how to impose periodic penalty payments). The aim is to ensure that AML/CFT breaches are assessed in the same way by all supervisors across the EU and that enforcement action is proportionate, dissuasive and effective.
The EBA will submit its response to the Commission on 31 October 2025.
Consultation Paper: Consultation Paper on Response to Call for Advice new AMLA mandates (European Banking Authority)
More information: The EBA consults on new rules related to the anti- money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism package (European Banking Authority)
BANKS – CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL RISKS
Following a meeting in May 2025, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision confirmed in a press release that one of its priorities is analysing the impact of extreme weather events on financial risks; it plans to publish a voluntary disclosure framework for climate-related financial risks for jurisdictions to consider in June 2025.
BASEL III – FUNDAMENTAL REVIEW OF THE TRADING BOOK
The Commission is expected to delay the implementation of the market risk-related capital requirement for banks (the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB)) by a further year until 1 January 2027. It is likely to adopt the relevant Commission Delegated Act in early June 2025. The delayed implementation has been triggered by Basel III implementation delays in other key jurisdictions, such as the US and the UK.
BENCHMARKS REGULATION
Regulation (EU) 2025/914 amending the EU Benchmarks Regulation was published in the Official Journal on 19 May 2025, enters into force on 8 June 2025 and applies from 1 January 2026. It will:
- Pare back the scope of the EU Benchmarks Regulation to cover critical benchmarks, significant benchmarks, certain commodity benchmarks and climate-related benchmarks such as EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks.
- Keep spot FX benchmarks that meet certain conditions in scope.
- Confirm that the threshold for a benchmark to be categorised as significant will be a total average value of at least €50 billion.
- Allow other benchmarks to be subject to a voluntary supervision regime if they each reach a €20 billion threshold.
- Provide that for ESG-related benchmarks, the Commission will need to specify the information, and the standard format to be used for references to ESG factors, to enable market participants to make well-informed choices and to ensure the technical feasibility of compliance.
- Give ESMA a supervisory role over administrators endorsing benchmarks provided in a third country.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS REGULATION – NET STABLE FUNDING RATIO
The Commission has adopted a legislative proposal for a regulation amending the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) relating to prudential requirements for securities financing transactions (SFTs) under the net stable funding ratio.
It wants the amending Regulation to apply from 29 June 2025 and asked the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to consider the proposal as quickly as possible.
Under the CRR, until 28 June 2025, EU credit institutions can apply lower required stable funding factors for SFTs and unsecured transactions with a residual maturity of less than 6 months than those set out under the Basel standards. The amending Regulation will amend the CRR to place that treatment on a permanent basis.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS REGULATION – SUPERVISORY REPORTING
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3117 applies from 28 June 2025. It replaces the existing implementing technical standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451 in light of the number of changes made to CRR by CRR III.
CENTRAL SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES REGULATION
The EBA's public consultation on draft RTS on the threshold of activity at which central securities depositories (CSDs) providing 'banking-type ancillary services' need to meet certain prudential risk management requirements set out in the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) closes on 16 June 2025.
The aim is to allow CSDs do more settlement of foreign currency in commercial bank money without increasing the risk in CSDs or the overall financial system. The EBA has suggested a threshold with staggered requirements dependent on a CSD's level and type of activity in banking-type ancillary services.
Consultation Paper: Consultation paper on draft RTS on CSDR threshold (European Banking Authority)
EMIR 3.0
The requirement for firms that are subject to the clearing obligation to clear at least a portion of certain systemic derivatives through active accounts at EU CCPs was the most high-profile change in EMIR 3.0. In-scope FCs and NFCs must set up an active account by 25 June 2025.
More information: EMIR 3.0 comes into force on 24 December 2024 and EMIR 3.0 Update and the Active Account Requirement.
ESMA's Consultation Paper on the clearing thresholds under EMIR 3.0 closes on 16 June 2025. It proposes new clearing thresholds, looks for stakeholder input on virtual power purchase agreements in the context of the definition of hedging contracts, and considers a new trigger mechanism to launch a review of the clearing thresholds. ESMA plans to publish its final report and submit the draft RTS to the Commission by the end of 2025.
The existing equivalence determination under EMIR in respect of the UK regulatory framework was due to expire on 30 June 2025 but was extended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/215 by a further 3 years to 30 June 2028.
ESG RATINGS REGULATION
ESMA's consultation on draft RTS under the ESG Rating Regulation closes on 20 June 2025. The draft RTS deal with:
- The information that should be given in applications for authorisation and recognition of ESG ratings providers.
- Measures and safeguards that should be put in place to mitigate risks of conflicts of interest within ESG rating providers who carry out activities other than the provision of ESG ratings.
- The information that ESG rating providers should disclose to the public, rated items and issuers of rated items, as well as users of ESG ratings.
The consultation closes on 20 June 2025.
ESMA plans to publish its Final Report and submit the draft RTS to the Commission for adoption in October 2025.
Consultation Paper: Consultation Paper on RTS under the ESG Ratings Regulation (ESMA)
FINANCIAL DATA ACCESS FRAMEWORK (FIDA)
Trilogue negotiations on FIDA are expected to restart in mid-June 2025. FIDA remains on the Commission's Work Programme, despite rumours leading up to the publication of the Work Programme that the Commission would withdraw the proposal. The Commission published a non-paper in May 2025 in an attempt to progress negotiations on the proposal.
INSURANCE - GENAI
EIOPA's survey on the adoption of generative AI (GenAI) solutions in the European insurance sector closes on 15 June 2025. The survey, targeted at EU insurance undertakings, looks for feedback on:
- The extent to which insurance undertakings have implemented or are planning to implement GenAI solutions.
- Whether and how these GenAI solutions differ from their adoption of traditional AI systems.
- What governance and risk management measures insurance undertakings are taking to ensure a responsible use of the technology.
INSURANCE – SOLVENCY II
EIOPA's three public consultations as part of the Solvency II review, focusing on exclusions from group supervision, revised guidelines on the treatment of related undertakings and a revised opinion on the use of volatility adjustments, close on 26 June 2025.
- Consultation on draft Guidelines on exclusions from group supervision
- Consultation on draft revised Guidelines on the treatment of related undertakings
- Consultation on draft revised Opinion on dynamic volatility adjustment
MARKET ABUSE – INSIDER LISTS
ESMA's consultation paper proposing changes to the format for drawing up and updating insider lists (as part of the Listing Act amendments to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)) closes on 3 June 2025. ESMA plans to finalise the ITS and submit them to the Commission in Q4 2025.
The Listing Act requires that ESMA review the existing ITS on insider lists to extend the simplified format (currently used by issuers on SME Growth Markets) to all issuers.
ESMA's proposal is that the revised ITS include three different insider list templates.
The first two templates will cover the event-based and the permanent section of the insider list for non-SME issuers and SME Growth Market issuers in those Member States that have opted out of the simplified regime.
- The first template (events-based section of the insider lists) would no longer include the following: surname(s) at birth (if different), company name and address of the insider, personal telephone number, and personal full home address. Issuers will need to include the insider's national identification number and only when this is not applicable, their date of birth (i.e. issuers would no longer be required to report both simultaneously).
- The second template (permanent section of the insider list) would no longer require the following personal data in respect of the insider: surname(s) at birth (if different), personal telephone number and personal full home address. Again, the national identification number and insider's date of birth would no longer be required simultaneously. The second template won't replace the events-based list which those issuers would still be required to draw up.
- The third template is specific to SME Growth Market issuers only in those EU Member States that haven't opted out of the simplified regime. The approach to this template is similar to that in respect of the permanent list (second template above).
MARKETS IN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS REGULATION
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1003 supplementing the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) as regards OTC derivatives identifying reference data to be used for the purposes of the transparency requirements laid down in Article 8a(2) and Articles 10 and 21 has been published in the Official Journal. It enters into force and applies from 11 June 2025.
It sets the operative rules relating to identifying reference data, to be used from 1 September 2026, for OTC interest rate and OTC credit default swaps for the purposes of the transparency requirements under Article 8(a) and Articles 10 and 21 of MiFIR.
RETAIL INVESTMENT PACKAGE
Trilogues were due to resume on 3 June 2025 amid continuing uncertainty on whether agreement can actually be reached (with the EU Council and European Parliament wanting to simplify the Commission's original proposal). The Commission has continued to push for trilogue progress and previously threatened to "withdraw the proposal if the negotiations fail to meet the intended objectives of the Strategy." That trilogue meeting has now been cancelled and the next round of trilogues will instead take place in H2 2025 under the Danish Presidency of the EU Council.
SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS UNION
The Commission's consultation on various measures needed to foster EU market integration and efficient supervision runs until 5 June 2025. It includes a Call for Evidence on proposed Directive and a Call for Evidence on proposed Regulation. The formal legal proposals are due for publication in Q4 2025. The Commission is looking for feedback to help it identify the barriers that prevent the EU's trading and post-trading infrastructures from benefitting from a frictionless single market, examine whether the current regulatory and supervisory setting is fit for the capital markets and in particular for market operators with strong cross-border activities or operating in new or emerging sectors, and review the toolbox of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) to see where their effectiveness can be improved.
This follows a targeted consultation on integration of EU capital markets published by the Commission in April 2025, with a response deadline of 10 June 2025.
SECURITISATION
The provisional date for the Commission to publish its legislative proposal to amend the EU Securitisation Regulation is 17 June 2025. This follows the publication, by the Joint Committee of the ESAs, of their Article 44 report on the functioning of the EU Securitisation Regulation with recommendations to the Commission in advance of the publication of the its planned legislative proposal.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
The Polish EU Council Presidency is likely to circulate a draft compromise text shortly with the aim of reaching a compromise by the end of June 2025 on the proposed substantive amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. However, there are diverging views among a number of key EU Member States, so negotiations are expected to continue well into H2 2025.
More information: Omnibus Package: Proposed Amendments to CSRD and CSDDD and EU Stops the Clock for CSRD and CSDDD.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
