PIMFA Fortnightly News Bulletin - 27th March 2020

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PIMFA News Bulletin - 27th March 2020: Now Weekly

We are in this together Dear Member

We hope you are well and are keeping safe during this challenging time.

In light of recent developments with the COVID-19 outbreak, we are committed to delivering as much information as possible to our members and, as such, we will now be making the PIMFA Bulletin weekly instead of fortnightly, in order to deliver the very latest news on the impact of COVID-19 and other key issues that affect you and your business, alongside current affairs from within PIMFA and the industry.

As we all navigate through these uncertain times, PIMFA remain here for all our members and are continuing to operate on your behalf and represent your interests. If you have any issues, or if there is anything we can be of assistance with, please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@pimfa.co.uk and we will direct your query to the person best able to help you.

Best wishes

The Team at PIMFA

What is PIMFA working on?

COVID-19 PIMFA Office Closed Until Further Notice Following the Government announcement on 16th March 2020, the management of PIMFA have made a decision to close the office, requesting that staff work remotely. The management of PIMFA will continue to review and follow latest suggested Government guidance. On that basis, all face to face meetings will be conducted via conference call, video conference or postponed (if appropriate).

Please continue to contact members of the PIMFA team in the usual way, either by email or telephone. The main switchboard number (020 7448 7100) will be transferred to a member of the PIMFA team who will arrange for messages to be distributed accordingly.

PIMFA Weekly Meetings with FCA PIMFA will be holding weekly meetings with FCA each Wednesday to provide feedback from firms on issues arising relating to COVID 19, and also to get feedback from FCA. The outcome of these meetings will be discussed live every week in PIMFA’s ‘Webinar Wednesday’ – available to members only.

We are logging all issues we raise with FCA and if you have any issues regarding the impact of the Coronavirus on your business or clients, or other intelligence about impact on the market, platform providers or emerging scams, please email Ian Cornwall at ianc@pimfa.co.uk.

Useful links Members may find the following pieces of information useful:

•

FCA information for firms on Coronavirus (Covid-19) response

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/information-firms-coronavirus-covid-19-response

•

FCA - Coronavirus (Covid-19): support for consumers

https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/coronavirus-covid-19

•

FCA - Key workers in financial services

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/key-workers-financial-services •

FCA’s expectations on financial resilience for FCA solo-regulated firms

[addressing issues around firms meeting their capital requirements obligations] https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-expectations-financial-resilience-fca-soloregulated-firms

•

Joint statement by the FCA, FRC and PRA [addressing issues regarding the

auditing of accounts] https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/joint-statement-fca-frc-pra

•

ESMA - COVID-19: Clarification of issues related to the application of MiFID II

requirements on the recording of telephone conversations https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/library/esma35-432348_esma_statement_on_covid-19_telephone_recording.pdf •

London Stock Exchange – Update for market participants

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/products-and-services/technical-library/serviceannouncements/2020/live-001-06032020.pdf

•

World Health Organisation

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

New PIMFA Member Firm We are pleased to welcome our latest new member firm to the association:

RSM UK - Audit, Tax, Accounting & Consultancy

We look forward to working with you.

BREXIT Update: UK – EU Trade Negotiations Brexit negotiations are currently on hold due to the coronavirus situation. The second round of talks, scheduled to take place in London on 18 March, was cancelled. There have been discussions on holding the talks via video-conferencing but both sides have yet to announce how they will proceed going forward. The negotiations will be further delayed following the news that the EU Chief Negotiator Michael Barnier has tested positive for COVID – 19 and David Frost, the UK Chief Negotiator, has experienced symptoms of the virus and is self-isolating at the moment. The attention has now turned to the question of whether, under the current circumstances, the timetable for securing a post-Brexit trade deal is realistic and whether the transition period should be extended beyond December 2020. The concerns are that the Government does not have enough bandwidth to deal both with the coronavirus crisis and the negotiations. For the time being, ministers are insisting the transition period will end in December, no matter what.

For further information, please contact Maja Erceg.

Equivalence On 27 February, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak wrote to Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission Executive Vice President, on the UK’s preparations for assessments of financial services equivalence. The Chancellor confirmed the UK’s commitment to complete the equivalence assessments by the June deadline. In his brief reply, Dombrovskis dismissed Sunak’s push for the Commission to adopt all equivalence decisions by June 2020 and stressed that the June deadline only pertains to completing the assessments, not taking equivalence decisions by that date. The Commission Vice President also added that the equivalence assessment will have to take into account overall developments, including any divergences of UK rules from EU rules. The Commission here is reaffirming that the equivalence assessments are not purely a technical exercise and that any decisions are linked to the broader political relationship between the two sides. Additionally, the Commission is not planning on granting all equivalence decisions at the same time; some will be held back as part of the Commission’s negotiating strategy.

The European Commission’s draft legal agreement for future EU-UK partnership

On 18 March the European Commission published the text of the draft legal agreement for future EU-UK partnership. The draft text does not contain anything that has not been mentioned in the Commission’s communications thus far: •

Level-playing field (LPF) – ensuring that the UK does not significantly diverge from EU

rules on state aid, environmental & labour issues; •

Enforcement – any interpretation of EU law must be deferred to the European Court of

Justice (ECJ); •

Fisheries – ensuring EU fishermen’s access to UK waters even if the proposed

annual quota negotiations fail; •

Governance – the FTA would be governed under a single structure; the UK is seeking

separate agreements on specific issues/sectors.

For further information, please contact Maja Erceg.

Sustainable finance: The European Commission’s Technical Expert Group (TEG) On 12 March the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group (TEG) held the last stakeholder dialogue of its mandate and presented its final report on the Taxonomy and usability guide on the EU Green Bond Standard (GBS). The final report includes clarifications on the climate adaptation activities and ensures that they do no significant harm (DNSM). This principle is included for each activity. Regarding the EU Green Bond Standard, the Commission will now decide how to progress this further and will explore enshrining it in law while maintaining it as a voluntary regime. A final decision will be made in September / October of this year. The Commission will now begin work on transposing the TEG’s work into delegated acts. Also, the Commission-led International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) is currently mapping the key tools across all third country jurisdictions and analysing whether there is room for regulatory convergence.

For more information, or with any queries, please contact Maja Erceg.

Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement The first meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and UK will be held via videoconference on Monday, 30 March. The meeting will be co-chaired by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and

European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič. The Committee’s role is to discuss the day-to-day reality of Brexit on the ground. The Cabinet Office will be responsible for coordinating the work of the Joint Committee on behalf of the UK government, while the European Commission’s UK Task Force will coordinate the EU’s joint committee work.

The provisional agenda was published by the EU on the Commission’s website. Both sides will update each other on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and then discuss the tasks of the specialised committees.

For more information, please contact Maja Erceg.

Latest PIMFA Press Releases Tim Fassam joins PIMFA as Director of Government Relations and Policy PIMFA to hold weekly meetings with FCA in wake of coronavirus outbreak PIMFA on the future of UK supervision – ‘is the FCA fit for purpose?

PIMFA Welcomes IRSG Report on ‘Architecture for Regulating Finance after Brexit’ PIMFA reacts to General Election result: Let's Work Together to Build a Culture of Saving and Investment PIMFA Under 40 Forum: Consistent theme is the Need for Financial Education in the UK

Read all of PIMFA's Press Releases

Latest PIMFA Consultation Response PIMFA's response to the FCA's Call for Input on Open Finance "Following consideration and consultation with our members, we have some serious concerns about open finance as it is described in the Call for Input, which are summarised below."

The full response can be read here.

What's coming up in PIMFA?

COVID-19 Update Following recent developments and advice from the World Health Organization and the UK Government on Coronavirus (COVID-19), it is with regret that we have decided to postpone all events until further notice. Workshops will still be taking place online via Zoom or may be postponed.

The decision has not been taken lightly; however, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our attendees must take precedence.

As the situation develops we will be updating the website, delivering content online and scheduling new dates. We will shortly be announcing our plans for this.

in the meantime, if you have any queries, please get in contact via events@pimfa.co.uk.

If you would like to find out more about COVID-19 and how to protect yourself, please visit the World Health Organization site.

The PIMFA Learning Library Check out the latest PIMFA podcasts and webinars on Vulnerability, Transaction Reporting and SM&CR by clicking on the PIMFA Library here.

What's happening in our industry Latest from the FCA Statement of Policy: Delaying annual company accounts during the coronavirus crisis

Companies and their auditors currently face unprecedented challenges in preparing audited financial information as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In response to the current situation, the FCA, FRC and PRA are today announcing a series of actions to ensure information continues to flow to investors and support the continued functioning of the UK’s capital markets.

This policy is intended to be temporary while the UK faces the extreme disruption of the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath. FCA will keep its application under review. When the disruption abates they will announce how they will end the policy in a fair, orderly and transparent way.

Details of the announcement can be found below:

The Joint Statement The FCA Statement Q&A to accompany FCA Statement

Latest Industry Events COVID-19 UPDATE: LIVE BROADCAST OF THE MONEY MARKETING AWARDS Due to the Covid-19 situation, we have had to take the decision to cancel the live event element of this year’s Money Marketing Awards, which were due to take place on 24 June.

However, we believe it’s incredibly important to recognise the amazing work the advice profession does day in, day out for clients so all elements of the adjudication process, involving over 50 industry judges, shall continue unabated, albeit conducted remotely.

During the summer, instead of the formality of a set-piece ceremony, we will be announcing winners live in a special broadcast from Money Marketing TV, which can also be followed live on social media. Later in the year, we will be delighted to host a special drinks reception for all our shortlist and advice firm winners. This will be free to attend for advisers, so no need to buy a table this year. It will, however, give our brilliant community time to catch up with old friends and make some new ones too.

Further details will follow. We hope you'll join us on this exciting journey.

View all the latest industry events on our website here If your firm has an event which you would like to post on this area, please click here to submit it.

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