donderdag 1 augustus 2013

SAVE-THE-DATE: 20 November 2013 - EIOPA Conference

Dear Sir or Madam,

EIOPA has the pleasure to announce its 3rd Annual Conference, which will be
held on 20 November 2013 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany).

The EIOPA Conference 2013 will include keynote speeches by Commissioner
Michel Barnier and the German State Secretary Dr Thomas Steffen as well as
three panel discussions entitled as follows:


"Strategic Visions for life-insurance and pensions"
"Pensions - Towards an EU framework"
"Solvency II - On your mark, get set, go"

Invited speakers and representatives will provide participants once more
with a wealth of expertise and in-depth analysis. We are confident that
this year's conference represents a perfect opportunity for very
interesting and dynamic dialogues between the financial services industry,
experts from the EU institutions, consumer representatives, legal and
financial consultants, academics and national supervisory authorities of
the European Community.

The detailed programme and registration details will be circulated in due
course. In the meantime, should you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact us at EIOPAConference{at}eiopa.europa.eu
(Link: EIOPAConference@eiopa.europa.eu ).

We look forward to inspiring discussions and networking opportunities in
the dynamic setting of the 16th EURO FINANCE WEEK.

Yours sincerely,
Florian Ouillades
on behalf of Gabriel Bernardino (Chairman EIOPA)


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donderdag 25 juli 2013

EIOPA publishes Report on Market Developments in cross-border IORPs

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has
published today its 2013 Report on Market Developments in cross-border
IORPs.

The report provides a general overview of the developments in cross-border
arrangements of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs)
for the period June 2012-June 2013.

The results of the report show that during the reporting period 2 new
cross-border IORPs have been reported and 4 cross-border IORPs were
withdrawn. Therefore, in total, there was a slight decrease in the number
of IORPs operating cross-border to 82 from 84 in 2012.

The number of home states (the countries in which the IORP has its
registered office and/or its main administration) did not change comparing
to 2012 and remains 9.

The number of host states (the countries whose social and labour law is
relevant to the field of occupational pension) has decreased by 3 to 19.
In general across the European Economic Area 11 countries are not in the
list of host states.

The current publication is the 7th report in a series on market
developments in cross-border IORPs, which were produced first by CEIOPS
and later on by EIOPA.

The text of this report can be viewed on the EIOPA website:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/reports/index.html (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/reports/index.html )


This newsletter was sent to you by:

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WesthafenTower | Westhafenplatz 1 | 60327 Frankfurt | Germany
Phone: +49 69 951119-20
Fax: +49 69 951119-19

info@eiopa.europa.eu
https://eiopa.europa.eu

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password on the login page of the EIOPA Restricted Area.

donderdag 18 juli 2013

EIOPA publishes results of Peer Reviews on Internal Models

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
published today the final report on the results of its two peer reviews on
internal models.
The purpose of the peer reviews was to assess the practices of supervisors
and colleges related to the review of internal models during the
pre-application process. Both peer reviews cover supervisory practices in
24 Member States.
Differences of supervisory practices in the pre-application process of
internal models were identified in the following important areas:
interpretation of the requirements; the philosophies underpinning how to
review models, the use of proportionality as well as the organisation and
expectations of on-site visits.
The Report summarises best practices in the areas of communication,
reviews, planning, pre-application packages, training and colleges of
supervisors and outlines a number of recommendations addressed to NSAs and
EIOPA.
In a next step EIOPA will ensure a proper follow-up to the recommendations
as well as the best practices.
The Report can be viewed here (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/files/publications/reports/EIOPA-RP-13-096a_Peer_Review_IntMod_Final_Report_web.pdf
)


This newsletter was sent to you by:

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Phone: +49 69 951119-20
Fax: +49 69 951119-19

info@eiopa.europa.eu
https://eiopa.europa.eu

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donderdag 4 juli 2013

First EU study on the financial situation of pension funds

EIOPA published today the first EU study on the financial situation of
pension funds. The results show that the holistic balance sheet approach
benefits the protection of current and future generations. And the
outcomes reinforce the need to continue working towards a
market-consistent and risk-based regulatory regime in Europe.

The study was undertaken at the request of the European Commission to
inform stakeholders on the quantitative impact of the different options
for the holistic balance sheet approach put forward in EIOPA's Advice on
the Review of the IORP Directive.

Click here (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/press-room/press-releases/index.html ) to the
press release, the final report of the QIS and the Discussion Paper to
improve the technical specifications for the valuation of sponsor support.

Together with the QIS final report EIOPA has published a Discussion Paper
to improve the technical specifications for the valuation of sponsor
support. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback to this discussion
paper by 31 October 2013.


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Phone: +49 69 951119-20
Fax: +49 69 951119-19

info@eiopa.europa.eu
https://eiopa.europa.eu

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vrijdag 28 juni 2013

EIOPA issues Opinion on Consumer Protection Issues in Payment Protection Insurance

With this Opinion in the field of consumer protection, EIOPA recommends
national competent authorities (NCAs) to analyse their national Payment
Protection Insurance (PPI) markets based on the findings of this opinion.
PPI is an insurance product designed to provide coverage for the consumer
of a financial obligation generally in the form of a mortgage or a
consumer loan repayment, in case they are unable to fulfil a payment. The
consumer protection issues surrounding PPI have triggered action from
regulatory or supervisory bodies in a number of jurisdictions.

EIOPA acknowledges that PPI products, when properly designed and sold,
serve legitimate consumer needs. Yet, EIOPA also notes that, in a number
of jurisdictions, significant cases of misselling have occurred, to the
detriment of consumers and negatively affecting the reputation of the
insurance sector as a whole. The most frequently arising mis-selling
issues for PPI products are eligibility/suitability issues and providing
misleading information. In these cases, for example, consumers are either
unable to claim benefits, because their individual situation is not
covered by the policy, or they have not yet received the necessary
information to base their choice on. Moreover, market imperfections, such
as the fact that PPI is often sold together with the loan products
(cross-selling) or that consumers do not have comparable information, also
contribute to distorted consumer choice. NCAs are requested to analyse
whether PPI merits (further) investigation and any possible (further)
supervisory and/or regulatory action at national level, based on the
findings of the opinion. The opinion requests NCAs to provide feedback on
their previous activities and on any future actions in this area based on
this opinion within six months from today.
Based on the information received from NCAs EIOPA will decide if and what
kind of further action is needed at an EU level.

As EIOPA's Chairman Gabriel Bernardino explained: "We have observed in
certain countries the emergence in the PPI market of business models where
market power of certain distributors led to disproportionate levels of
commissions, often as high as 80% of premiums paid by consumers. This and
other practices have led to considerable consumer detriment and have been
subject to regulatory and supervisory action. With this Opinion EIOPA
intends to obtain a clear picture of the reality in all the EU countries
in order to better protect consumers and promote regulatory and
supervisory convergence."

The text of EIOPA Opinion on Payment Protection Insurance and the
Background Note can be viewed on EIOPA website:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/eiopa-opinions/index.html
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/eiopa-opinions/index.html )


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password on the login page of the EIOPA Restricted Area.

EIOPA elects new members of its Management Board

The Board of Supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational
Pensions Authority (EIOPA) elected four members of EIOPA Management Board:

Peter Braumüller, Managing Director of the Financial Market Authority
(Austria) – re-elected;

Jan Parner, Deputy Director General of Finanstilsynet (Denmark) –
re-elected;

Felix Hufeld, Chief Executive Director of Insurance Supervision in the
Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin (Germany) – elected;

Sergej Simoniti, Director of Insurance Supervision Agency (Slovenia) –
elected.

The Management Board of EIOPA is composed of the Chairman of EIOPA and six
other members of the Board of Supervisors, elected by and from the voting
members of the Board of Supervisors.

The term of office of the Management Board members is 2,5 years with the
possibility to be extended once. Mandates of the members should be
overlapping in order to ensure appropriate rotation and business
continuity.

Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, said: "It is my pleasure to
welcome the new Management Board members and to work together with them in
order to fulfil the challenging mission of EIOPA: to safeguard public
interest by contributing to the stability and effectiveness of the
financial system, and to protect the rights of policyholders, pension
scheme members and beneficiaries.

At the same time my deep gratitude goes to the terminating members -
Matthew Elderfield (Central Bank of Ireland) and Damian Jaworski (Polish
Financial Supervision Authority). We highly appreciate their very valuable
input in all the initiatives and projects of EIOPA and their truly
European spirit".


This newsletter was sent to you by:

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WesthafenTower | Westhafenplatz 1 | 60327 Frankfurt | Germany
Phone: +49 69 951119-20
Fax: +49 69 951119-19

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https://eiopa.europa.eu

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Joint Committee of ESAs holds its first Consumer Protection Day

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (Joint
Committee) held its first Consumer Protection Day on 25 June 2013 in
Paris.

Consumer protection is a major objective for the European Supervisory
Authorities (ESAs – EBA, ESMA, EIOPA) and under the auspices of the
Joint Committee, they continue to place this high on their agenda for
2013.

The aim of the event was to provide a forum for exchange and discussion on
important and current cross-sectoral consumer issues.

The Joint Consumer Protection Day attracted around 250 consumer
representatives, academics, legal and financial consultants, national
supervisors, experts from the EU institutions and financial services
industry (banking, securities, insurance and pensions).

In his opening speech Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA and the current
Joint Committee Chair, called for regulatory consistency across the three
financial sectors and urged the application of sound conduct of business
practices by market participants. He also spoke about the emergence of a
new paradigm on transparency and fairness towards consumers. "In order
to regain trust and confidence by consumers, financial institutions need
to develop simpler and more understandable products, devote further
attention to the fairness of contractual conditions and definitely they
need to review the charges and commissions applied ensuring that they are
not disproportionate", he said.

During the panel discussion on PRIPs (proposal for a 'Regulation on key
information documents for investment products') participants discussed
the scope of the proposal together with considerations as to personalise
the so-called Key Information Document enabling comparison between covered
products (e.g. by including national information on tax implications). The
importance of behavioural finance in product disclosure was also addressed
and views were shared on which kind of information consumers generally
need in order to take informed decisions on whether to buy or not to buy a
product.

Different break-out sessions on consumer trends, sales incentives and
product intervention were held.

In this respect, the panellists discussing consumer trends, agreed that the
ESAs need enhanced data collection powers to ensure data of quality with a
view to continuously collect, analyse and report on consumer trends. The
usefulness of comparison websites and payment protection instruments, two
current trends in some of the financial sectors, was highlighted whilst
focus was given to the consumer detriment also surrounding these types of
distribution channels and instruments.

On the topic of sales incentives, it was felt that in order to avoid
mis-selling of financial products, several changes in sales culture are
urgently required.

On product intervention, participants debated whether these powers would
have the most value as a 'threat' in influencing firms to act in the
best interests of their clients, and that product intervention should be
seen in the round, as part of product design, product governance, and
product distribution in order to address consumer protection issues before
and up to point of sale, rather than playing catch-up after products hit
the market.

Summarising the panel discussions, Andrea Enria, Chairman of EBA, said:
"Today's conference has stimulated a lively and fruitful discussion.
The ESAs will continue to join forces to identify cross-cutting issues and
to address them jointly to the benefit of consumers across the EU".

Steven Maijoor, Chairman of ESMA, in his closing remarks, indicated:
"Whilst the financial crisis is mainly a stability crisis, and the
regulatory response has been focussed on stability issues, we must not
lose sight of our mandate, at European level, to promote the interests of
consumers and to ensure a high level of consumer protection. But
delivering on protecting consumers' needs buy-in from industry (and
consumers) too.

"It is not all about regulation, supervision and enforcement. Industry
should internalise clients' interests and business models need to focus
better on client needs".

Click here to view the full text of Gabriel Bernardino's speech at the
Consumer Protection Day:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/press-room/speeches-presentations-and-interviews/index.html
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/press-room/speeches-presentations-and-interviews/index.html
)


This newsletter was sent to you by:

EIOPA
WesthafenTower | Westhafenplatz 1 | 60327 Frankfurt | Germany
Phone: +49 69 951119-20
Fax: +49 69 951119-19

info@eiopa.europa.eu
https://eiopa.europa.eu

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