There have been many developments in national and European financial markets regulation during the past month. We provide a brief overview of these developments, which include the Council of the EU's vote on the EU banking reform package and, in the Netherlands, the adoption of a Dutch bill implementing the Prospectus Regulation and the rejection of a remuneration bill put forward by some members of parliament.

Highlighted publications EU Banking Reform Package adopted by the Council of the EU Following the adoption of the EU Banking Reform Package by the European Parliament in April 2019, the Council of the EU adopted the package on 14 May. The next step is for the legislation to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. Click here for our booklet highlighting the key changes to the capital requirements and resolution framework. Implementation of Prospectus Regulation A bill implementing the Prospectus Regulation was adopted by the First Chamber of the Dutch parliament on 14 May. It is expected to enter into force on 21 July, the date as of which the Prospectus Regulation applies. Because the regulation has direct effect, most articles concerning prospectuses will be removed from the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act. Only four articles will remain, which include the issuer's responsibility for the information in the prospectus and the national regime for exempted offers of securities to the public. Also, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) will be granted the necessary powers under the regulation. Ahead of implementation, the Netherlands raised the exemption limit for offers of securities to the public from EUR 2.5 million to EUR 5 million last year. Supervisors highlight importance of preparing for interest rate benchmarks transition The AFM and the Dutch Central Bank have sent banks, insurers and pension funds a letter on the ongoing worldwide interest rate benchmarks reforms and, in particular, the transition from critical interest rate benchmarks to alternative risk-free rates (RFRs). The benchmarks EURIBOR, LIBOR and EONIA are not sustainable in their current form and may not meet the requirements set out in the European Benchmark Regulation, which is applicable in full as of 1 January 2022. In the letter, the AFM and the Dutch Central Bank urge market participants to analyse the risks involved with the transition and to take appropriate action to prepare for the transition to alternative benchmarks. Remuneration bill rejected The Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament has rejected a members' bill amending current remuneration legislation. The members wanted to tighten the definition of fixed remuneration. They also proposed requiring systemically relevant banks to obtain the Minister of Finance's approval before setting or increasing the fixed remuneration of a managing director. In February 2019, the Minister of Finance indicated that the government’s advice to parliament was not to adopt this bill. Financial Supervision Funding Following the entry into force of the Act on the Funding of Financial Supervision 2019 as of 1 January 2019, a corresponding decree has now been published. The decree contains rules for apportioning the costs to the different categories of supervised entities. The main change to the framework is that levies will be specified in delegated legislation rather than in the act itself, making the system more flexible. Other publications EC