EIOPA has published an Opinion on the evaluation of internal models for calculating capital requirements.

LSB has revised the March 2011 Code provisions on the minimum standards required in dealing with debt collection agencies and debt sales (within paragraphs 228-238).

Topics include: a round-up of recent complaints involving money transfers case studies involving s75 CCA claims and credit cards; feedback and tips from adjudicators on the way they see businesses handling complaints.

Article discussing the News international’s bid for BSkyB shares and how the issue relates to unauthorised disclosure of market sensitive information and thus market abuse.

FSA has launched this consultation on establishing a consumer redress scheme, which could deliver around £110m compensation to investors who were mis-sold the CF Arch cru Investment and Diversified funds. This is in addition to the £54m payment scheme announced last year, involving Capita Financial Managers Limited, BNY Mellon Trust & Depositary (UK) Limited and HSBC Bank plc. All firms which sold Arch cru funds would have to contact their customers within four weeks of rules being made, indicating whether or not their case falls within the scope of the scheme; where redress is due, firms would be able to use an FSA online calculator to calculate each payment – taking account of how much money each investor is able to claim from the separate voluntary payment scheme; and investors should receive notification of how much redress is due within six months of the scheme starting, and would receive payment within 28 days of accepting. Responses to the consultation are required by 31 July 2012. FSA intends to publish a PS, including made Handbook text if approved, in November 2012.

Topics include: research on RDR readiness; policy updates and assessing suitability.

Google may be investigated not only by the European Commission, who have been looking into possible abuses of competition laws for the past two years, but also by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FT reports that some insurance companies and asset managers may struggle to obtain the data on assets needed to comply with Solvency II transparency and reporting requirements. There are also concerns that disclosure of trading positions may affect corporate confidentiality.

Text of a speech given at an EU conference follows. He puts forward specific policy recommendations, including suggestions that shadow banking vehicles or funds that are sponsored or operated by banks should be consolidated on to bank balance sheets; that banks should hold more liquid assets against such exposures; that money market funds should be required to choose between being variable or constant NAV funds; that non-bank financial intermediaries which finance themselves externally in the market be “subject to bank-type regulation and supervision of the resilience of their balance sheets”; that only banks should be able to use client moneys and unencumbered assets to finance their own business to a material extent; and that should be a clear principal relationship .. for non-banks, any client moneys and unencumbered assets should be segregated and should not be used to finance the business to a material extent. It should, however, remain permissible for non-banks to lend to such clients on a collateralised basis to finance their holdings of securities”. Recommendations on securities and repo lending include greater transparency, that financial firms and funds should not be able to lend against securities that they are not permitted or proficient to hold outright; that non-bank financial firms should be regulated in how they employ cash collateral and that the authorities should be able to step in and set minimum haircut or margin levels for the collateralised financing markets (or segments of them)”.

Text of the above, given at a Central Bank of Ireland conference, follows. Topics include: aspects of the single rulebook considered most important by Andrea Enria, particularly the definition of capital, liquidity standards and the quality of own funds; EBA’s work