On 11 March 2022, the European Banking Authority published a supervisory statement reminding financial institutions that they ensure compliance with sanctions and other restrictive measures as well as to facilitate refugees' access to basing payment accounts following the activation of the EU's Temporary Protection Directive.1
On 14 March, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), working together with respective National Competent Authorities (NCAs), published its supervisory expectations and coordinated regulatory response to the conflict in Ukraine and the impact on EU financial markets.2
Both of the statements from EBA and ESMA are short and compact but they each raise issues as to what they have not covered. The other sister authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is monitoring the exposure of firms under its remit but has yet (certainly as at the time hereof) to publish any official statements.3 The same applies to the European Central Bank (ECB), acting in its Banking Union capacity at the head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) save that it has concluded that firms' exposures are perhaps more resilient than expected.4 The ECB, in its monetary policy role, also continues to monitor the economic impact and adjust its toolkit as necessary.
In addition to the statements published at the EU level, many NCAs have published similar or wider-reaching statements. Consequently, supervised firms will want to ensure they are meeting all relevant supervisory expectations applicable to their operations across the EU-27.
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Footnotes
1. EBA's publication is available here.
2. ESMA's publication is available here.
3. Although EIOPA#s Chairperson commented on the situation on 25 March 2022 in an interview available here.
4. See ECB-SSM presentation available here.
Originally published March 2022
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