After a five-year delay, the European Union directive on automated sharing of tax information is now poised to move forward throughout the bloc as Austria and Luxembourg withdrew their objections to the law last week. Designed to crack down on tax evasion and bank secrecy, the EU Savings Tax Directive calls for the automatic exchange […]
Europe
Posted inEurope
EU Lawmakers Reach Landmark Compromise on Bank Wind-Down Mechanism
After a marathon negotiating session, European Union lawmakers this week reached a compromise on the method for winding down failing banks in the bloc, a contentious yet crucial piece of the planned EU banking union. The Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) would be triggered by the supervisor of the European Central Bank (ECB), based on either […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
European Commission Adopts Technical Standards for Capital Requirements
The European Commission last week adopted a package of Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) affecting bank capital standards, which are part of the larger Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive. The nine RTS, which were developed by the European Banking Authority, are part of the effort to create and implement a single rule book for banking throughout the […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
EU Makes Funding for Accounting Authorities Contingent Upon Reforms
European Parliament last week agreed to continue its share of funding for international accounting standards groups, but attached conditions to the funding on the governance of the groups as well as on the standards themselves. Members of Parliament approved the European Commission’s co-funding package for the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, the European Financial […]
Posted inEurope
Tougher EU AML Rules Include Owner Registries, More Due Diligence
Companies and trusts will have to list their ultimate beneficial owners in public registers, under tighter anti-money laundering (AML) regulations approved by European Parliament this week. Banks, auditors, lawyers, and real estate agents also must monitor their clients better to watch for suspicious transactions, under the AML directive approved by parliament. The goal behind the […]
Posted inEurope
Proposed Data Protection Reforms Include Stiff Penalties for Violators
Companies violating the European Union’s new data protection laws would face fines of up to €100 million, according to the provisions of a sweeping reform package approved by European Parliament this week. The stiffer corporate penalties are part of the data protection overhaul, which members of parliament said was desperately needed to bring the law […]
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Proposed EU Conflict Minerals Law Lacking Teeth, Critics Say
The European Commission this week released its proposed conflict minerals law amid criticism the proposal is too weak and narrow to be effective. Conflict minerals are those that are mined under conditions of armed conflict or human rights abuses, such as forced labor, and mainly come from the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of […]
Posted inEurope
Commission Adopts New Standards to Tighten EU Bonus Cap on Bankers
In an attempt to harmonize new bonus cap rules, the European Commission this week approved new standards for determining which employees qualify as “material risk takers” in banks and investment firms in the European Union. So-called material risk takers are employees whose work has a material impact on an institution’s risk profile. The Regulatory Technical […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
U.K. Bribery Charges in the Offing for France’s Alstom
Bloomberg News reported last week that French train manufacturer Alstom SA will be charged with violating U.K. bribery laws following a five-year investigation, citing two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The sources, who requested anonymity, told the news outlet that the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office may seek charges to be approved by the attorney […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Subjective Reporting of Exceptional Items Clouding True Profitability of FTSE 100
Non-financial FTSE 100 companies are subjectively reporting exceptional items, with a majority reporting underlying earnings that exceed unadjusted operating profits, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. The report, released 18 Feb., reviewed the annual reports for the last four years of 82 non-financial companies in the FTSE 100 index. Standard […]
