The text of the motion, from ECON, urges the EC to accelerate its work on those outstanding legislative initiatives in the area of financial services that it has announced over the past years. Among other specific matters, it calls on the EC to adopt as a matter of urgency its proposal on the Securities Law Directive; to present the outstanding revision of the Directive on payment services in the internal market as quickly as possible; calls for the EC to adopt proposals on a draft regulation on the Single Resolution Mechanism; follow up the Liikanen report; calls on the EC to adopt as soon as possible a proposal on money market funds and calls for action on MiFID, MAD/MAR. It is suggested that the EC undertakes a cost-benefit analysis, as soon as possible on the effectiveness and proportionality of the numerous pieces of legislation that have been adopted since the beginning of the financial crisis.

FCA has announced that Barclays, Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Nationwide, RBS Group, Santander and National Australia Group have agreed to use a same day “retry system” when payments are made to and from customers’ accounts to ensure that customers do not receive unnecessary penalty fees when using the faster payments process. It is noted that, for Lloyds Banking Group customers, the bank currently operates a same day retry system on many of its transactions, but is updating its systems to ensure it is used for all transactions. Until this occurs customers will be able to claim a refund for related late payment charges. The Payments Council is currently conducting detailed research and analysis to define the challenges faced by its members and what kind of detriment is being experienced by customers intended to help create a range of improvements that can be applied across the entire industry during 2014. FCA will be publishing work this summer which will look into how simple it is to cancel recurring transactions.

This sets out a number of Council conclusions, including concerns “that the current SEPA migration in Member States, with few exceptions, is far from being complete … some stakeholders seem to be planning for a late SEPA migration and therefore may be exposed to undue operational risks impacting smooth handling of payments”.

This press release notes Visa Europe's proposed commitments to significantly cut its inter-bank fees for credit card payments, to a level of 0.3% of the value of the transaction (a reduction of about 40 to 60%) and to reform its rules in order to facilitate cross-border competition. The proposals follow the sending of a supplementary statement of objections by the EC in July 2012. It is noted that the EC will seek feedback on these proposals from interested parties through a market test and may then decide to make them legally binding on Visa Europe.

This consultation seeks industry views on the Government’s proposal: to introduce legislation allowing in certain circumstances for a special administration regime to be applied to operators of recognised inter-bank payment systems, operators of securities settlement systems, and key service providers to these firms, in order to protect the stability of the UK financial system should any of these firms become insolvent. Responses are required by 19 June 2013.

It has been announced that BIS and IOSCO have started the process of monitoring implementation of the principles (international standards for payment, clearing and settlement systems, including CCPs and trade repositories) which were originally issued in April 2012. A first assessment is currently underway examining whether jurisdictions have made regulatory changes that reflect the principles and responsibilities in the principles. Results of this assessment are due to be published in Q3 2013.

The document sets out BoE’s approach to the supervision of securities settlement systems, central counterparties and recognised payment systems.

This consultation invites views on options for reforming the regulation and governance of payments systems in the UK. The Government is proposing to proceed with bringing payment systems under economic regulation, and establish a new competition-focused, utility-style regulator for retail payment systems. The regulator will operate according to the established institutional model for economic regulation, and will act to ensure that the Government’s aims for the payment systems are met. In particular, it will seek to ensure that the governance and operation of the payment systems is not a barrier to competition in the provision of payment services, and in the wider UK financial services market. It will also ensure that decisions about the operation and development of UK payment systems are made with the views of all stakeholders, including end-users, being properly taken into account, and that adequate investment is made to act on the results of these decisions. It is proposed that the regulator will be FCA or an existing economic regulator. The consultation also sets out the Government’s response to the previous July 2012 consultation entitled “Setting the strategy for UK payments” (inpidual responses are available to download via the third link below).

The report provides an account of how BoE has exercised its responsibilities in respect of payment system oversight during the period since the previous report (published in April 2012). It also notes changes to the Bank’s oversight regime that will come into effect on 1 April 2013, when BoE assumes wider supervisory responsibilities for financial market infrastructures including central counterparties and securities settlement systems.

This Order defines the circumstances in which ring-fenced bodies will be able to deal with investments as principal by providing for exceptions to the excluded activity set out in s142D FSMA in relation to the management by the ring-fenced body of its own risks or of its liquid assets buffer or the provision of derivatives to its clients for limited purposes. The Order also imposes prohibitions on ring-fenced bodies under s142E, which (with the exceptions provided for) limit the way in which a ring-fenced body may have access to clearing and settlement services provided by a recognised interbank payment system, restrict the exposures a ring-fenced body may have to relevant financial institutions, and ensure that a ring-fenced body may only have a branch or a subsidiary in a country outside the EEA with the approval of PRA. Article 1 defines the terms used in the Order. Article 2 defines relevant financial institution for the purposes of the Order. Article 3 provides for exceptions to the excluded activity of dealing with an investment as principal where the ring-fenced body is managing interest rate risk, exchange rate risk, default risk or liquidity risk, or is dealing in assets included in its liquid assets buffer. Article 4 sets out the conditions which must be satisfied by a ring-fenced body which wishes to deal in derivative instruments with its account holders.