FIG Top 5 at 5 - 19/06/2025

1. Central Bank publishes its June 2025 Insurance Newsletter

In the second week of June 2025, the Central Bank of Ireland (“Central Bank”) published its June 2025 Insurance Newsletter (“Newsletter”).

The Newsletter covers areas of relevance and interest to the insurance sector. Some of the matters covered in this edition include:

AML / AMLA Update

The Newsletter summarises the main points as regards the European Commission’s (“Commission”) AML Package – published in the official journal of the European Union in June 2024 - for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 27 June 2024.

The Newsletter highlights the following in relation to the AML Package and the new EU AML Supervisory Authority (“AMLA”):

• the AMLA Regulation (“AMLAR”) will commence direct supervision of the highest risk obliged entities in January 2028;
• the AML Regulation (“AMLR”) will be legally binding on in scope entities from July 2027;
• the sixth AML Directive (“6AMLD”) is required to be transposed into national law by July 2027; and
• taking account of the fact that the AMLA’s immediate priority is the drafting of regulatory technical standards and guidelines required under the AML Package, the Newsletter advises in scope entities to familiarise themselves with the AMLR such that they will be in a position to correctly implement required changes when the AMLR becomes binding in July 2027.

IRRD Consultation

The Newsletter sets out that, following engagement with the Central Bank, the Department of Finance expects to publish a public consultation as regards the transposition of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (“IRRD”). Specifically, the proposed consultation will seek feedback on the exercise of member state discretions under IRRD and financing arrangements. The consultation is expected to occur this year.

Complaints Handling

The Newsletter refers to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman’s (“FSPO”) recent publication of its 2024 overview of complaints report – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 3 April 2025 – summarising the main findings as regards the insurance industry. The Newsletter goes on to refer to the Central Bank’s Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook Report (“RSO Report”) – for more information see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 6 March 2025 - wherein it emphasises that firms are expected to “identify and address customer complaints speedily, efficiently and fairly, in particular those that may indicate a broader or more systemic issue”.

The Newsletter advises firms to consider the FSPO report and the RSO report to identify where there might be weaknesses in their complaints handling process or any areas for improvement in the context of their obligations under the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (“2012 Code”).

Additionally, the Newsletter restates the requirements of chapter 10 of the 2012 Code which set out a list of requirements as regards complaints handling.

Forthcoming thematic and information requests in Q3 2025:

• CP 160 is open for feedback until 10 July 2025 – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 17 April 2025; and
• an upcoming thematic review on the fair treatment of consumers with chronic illness, disabilities and medical conditions by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (“EIOPA”).

The Newsletter also sets out some recent and upcoming events in the insurance sector.

Central Bank Portal Updates

The Newsletter addresses the following matters as regards the Central Bank’s Portal:

• auditors statutory duty confirmation returns will now be collected via the Central Bank’s Portal as of Q3 2025;
• instructions as to how to set up a Central Bank Portal account;
• the Newsletter provides an update on the submission of the statutory duty confirmation, stating that the Central Bank expects to have the new statutory duty confirmation return in place in the coming weeks. Further, the Newsletter contains a table as regards financial year end and relevant submission dates and states that the Central Bank will schedule submissions as per the dates set out in the table.

DORA – Outsourcing Registers

In view of the number of compliance activities required this year as regards DORA, the Newsletter sets out that the Central Bank will not require (re)insurance firms to provide a copy of their outsourcing register, to the Central Bank, in 2025.

AI Update

Some of the matters addressed include:

• the Central Bank’s data gathering review on digitalisation as part of sectoral supervisory strategies, with the stated purpose of the engagement being to develop a deeper understanding of current and / or expected use of AI, strategies on AI, and governance and risk management related to the use of AI; and
• the Commission’s guidelines on general-purpose AI (GPAI) models.

EIOPA Updates

The Newsletter covers recent matters as regards EIOPA, much of which has been reported on recently in the Top 5, some of which are as follows:

• EIOPA’s simplification approach – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 10 April 2025; and
• the results of EIOPA’s study on household NatCat coverage and consumer information, for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 22 May 2025.

Central Bank Updates

Some of the matters addressed under this heading are as follows:

• the recently published 2024 Annual Report and Performance Statement, for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 5 June 2025;
• Individual Accountability Framework - INED Webinar which will took place on 17 June 2025; and
• the Central Bank’s cross sectoral information note entitled “Planning for the Transition to Net Zero: Our Perspective”.

Other Matters

The Newsletter also features details as to protected disclosures, stakeholder engagement  and the visit of the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

2. Legislative Updates: (1) Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 is commenced (2) Delegated Regulation on RTS on threat - led penetration testing under DORA published in OJEU

1. Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 is commenced

On 13 June 2025, SI No. 248/2025 - Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 (Commencement) Order 2025 (“Commencement Order”) was published published in Iris Oifigiúil.

This follows on from the recent signing into law of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 by the President, on 21 May 2025. For more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 29 May 2025.

The Commencement Order states that the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 will come into operation on 30 June 2025.

2. Delegated Regulation on RTS on threat - led penetration testing under DORA published in OJEU

On 18 June 2025, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1190 (“Regulation”) was published in the official journal of the European Union (“OJEU”).

The Regulation lays down regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) specifying the criteria to be used for identifying financial entities required to perform threat - led penetration testing (“TLPT”) under DORA. The Regulation was adopted by the European Commission on 13 February 2025 – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 20 February 2025.

Next Steps

The Regulation will enter into force on 8 July 2025, being 20 days after its publication in the OJEU.

3. CRR Updates: (1) EBA publishes final reports with RTS and RTS on operational risk and supervisory reporting under CRR (2) EU Council adopts proposed regulation amending CRR on treatment of SFTs (3) Commission adopts Delegated Regulation further postponing application date of own funds requirements for market risk under CRR

1. EBA publishes final reports with RTS and RTS on operational risk and supervisory reporting under CRR

On 16 June 2025, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”) published three final draft technical standards as regards operational risk under the Capital Requirements Regulation (“CRR”), as amended by the CRR III Regulation (“CRR III”), as follows:

1. Final Report on draft technical standards containing: 
   1. draft regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) on the components of the business indicator under Article 314(9)(a) of CRR and the elements to be excluded from the business indicator under Article 314(9)(b) of CRR and on the adjustments to the business indicator under Article 315(3)(a), (b) and (c) of CRR; and
   2. draft implementing technical standards (“ITS”) on the mapping of the business indicator components with corresponding supervisory reporting references under Article 314(10) of CRR.
2. Final Report (“Report”) on final draft ITS amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3117 on supervisory reporting under Article 430(7) of CRR concerning operational risk.

The Report addresses amendments to the operational risk reporting framework to assess compliance with the operational risk own funds requirements and compliments the reporting requirements already in place by requesting further details on the calculation of the business indicator components.

The EBA carried out a consultation on the technical standards in February 2024 – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 22 February 2024.

Next Steps

The EBA will submit the technical standards to the European Commission (“Commission”) for adoption. The EBA will publish the IT tools, including binding instructions, on its website, after such submission. Further, the EBA has stated that, during Q4 2025, it will publish a technical package including the data point models (“DPM”) validation rules and taxonomy. The first applicable reference date for reporting under the draft ITS on supervisory reporting will be 31 March 2026.

2. EU Council adopts proposed regulation amending CRR on treatment of SFTs

On 12 June 2025, the Council of the European Union (“Council”) announced that it has adopted the proposed regulation (“Regulation”) amending Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (“CRR”) as regards requirements for securities financing transactions (“SFTs”) under the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”).

The Council adopted its position at first reading on 25 May 2025 and published the proposed Regulation on 28 May 2025. 

The Regulation will amend article 510 of CRR and make permanent the current transitional ratio levels of certain short term securities SFTs held by banks. The ratio levels are used to help calculate the NSFR.

The Regulation also provides for the EBA to report to the European Commission every five years as to the appropriateness of the stable funding requirements.  

Liquidity

The EBA have stated that if this action was not taken, the ratios would have increased on 28 June 2025 and that using a lower ratio level for SFTs in calculating the NSFR allows for more liquidity for EU banks without compromising their stability.

It is also noted that in many non-EU jurisdictions, lower permanent SFT ratios for NSFR calculation have already been put in place – such ratios being lower than those in the international Basel standards for banks – meaning that EU banks would be disadvantaged if similar levels were not maintained.

Next Steps

The Regulation will be published in the official journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the day after such publication. The Regulation will apply from 29 June 2025. 

3. Commission adopts Delegated Regulation further postponing application date of own funds requirements for market risk under CRR

On 12 June 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted delegated regulation C(2025) 3643 (“Regulation”).

The Regulation postpones the application date of the fundamental review of the trading book (“FRTB”) in the EU by one additional year, to 1 January 2027, under the Capital Requirements Regulation (“CRR”).

Reason for Postponement

Monitoring of the implementation of the FRTB standards, over recent months, has shown that  while a small number of jurisdictions have progressed as regards implementation, uncertainty around implementation timelines in the jurisdictions with many internationally active banks remains very high and further delays are expected or have been confirmed. Accordingly, the Commission considered it necessary to defer the application of the FRTB standards for the calculation of own funds requirements for market risk in the EU by one additional year.

Effect

The practical effect of this postponement is that until 1 January 2027, institutions should continue to apply the market risk framework laid down in the version of CRR in force on 8 July 2024, that is, one day before Regulation (EU) 2024/1623 that amended CRR (Regulation (EU) No 575/2013) entered into force.

Recent Background

The Commission already postponed the FRTB implementation until 1 January 2026 – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 7 November 2024. The delay in the Regulation was proposed by the Commission in March 2025 in a targeted consultation on the application of the market risk prudential framework – for more information, see FIG Top 5 at 5 dated 27 March 2025. The explanatory memorandum of the Regulation references the March 2025 consultation and notes that the majority of respondents indicated a preference for an additional one year delay, and highlighted the level playing field distortions and loss of competitiveness they are very likely to face due to delays in implementation from other jurisdictions.  

Next Steps  

The Regulation will be published in the official journal of the European Union and enter into force on the day after its publication if neither the European Parliament nor the European Council object to it, following a two month period of scrutiny.

4. Commission adopts technical standards for creation of consolidated tapes under MiFIR

On 12 June 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted three delegated regulations and one implementing regulation containing technical standards that enable the creation of consolidated tapes (“CTs”) under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”).

The regulations are as follows:

1. Delegated Regulation C(2025) 3100 with regard to regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) on the authorisation and organisational requirements for approved publication arrangements and approved reporting mechanisms, and on the authorisation requirements for consolidated tape providers (“CTPs”), and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/571;
2. Delegated Regulation C(2025) 3102 and Annex with regard to RTS specifying the input and output data of CTs, the synchronisation of business clocks and the revenue redistribution by the CTPs for shares and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/574;
3. Delegated Regulation C(2025) 3103 and Annex with regard to RTS on the obligation to make market data available to the public on a reasonable commercial basis; and
4. Implementing Regulation C(2025) 3101 laying down implementing technical standards with regard to the standard forms, templates and procedures for the authorisation of approved publication arrangements, approved reporting mechanisms and CTPs, and related notifications, and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1110.

The technical standards laid down in the above delegated regulations and implementing regulation aim to ensure that CTs receive high quality data in a timely way. In addition the technical standards:

• specify the criteria for authorising CTPs;
• define the methodology for the equity tape provider to share the revenue earned from selling consolidated data with the trading venues that supplied it; and
• specify the conditions for making market data available to the public in an accessible, fair and non-discriminatory manner, while ensuring fair and reasonable fees. 

The Commission has stated that CTs will allow professional and retail investors to make more informed decisions. Additionally, CTs will foster competition as they will drive trading to venues with better prices and liquidity. Further, the Commission has stated that by addressing the fragmented EU trading landscape, the savings and investment union will be progressed, which will in turn, improve the competitiveness and integration of EU financial markets.

Welcoming the adoption of the delegated regulations and implementing regulation, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, Maria Luís Albuquerque, stated:

“The consolidated tapes are a significant contribution to the Savings and Investments Union. Today, accessing trading data in the EU is still too costly and dispersed… Today's rules mark a decisive step towards building a truly single European capital market.”

Next Steps

The delegated regulations and implementing regulation will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the European Council for their consideration. If neither objects, they will enter into force 20 days following their publication on the official journal of the European Union. They will all be directly applicable on that date except for articles 11-16 on the synchronisation of business clocks in Delegated Regulation C(2025) 3102, which apply from 2 March 2026.

The Commission has stated that it plans to adopt another delegated act on transparency rules “in the next few days”. This will support the full implementation of the CTs.

5. EIOPA publishes its Annual Report 2024

On 13 June 2025, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (“EIOPA”) published its Annual Report for 2024 (“Report”). 

The Report details EIOPA’s activities over 2024 in the implementation of its mandate, setting out a comprehensive account of the outcomes achieved as regards its objectives, which were detailed in its Annual Work Programme for 2024.

The Report highlights that 2024 saw many developments such as rapid advances in AI / geopolitical instability / intense and frequent climate related events / an increase in cyber threats. Acknowledging the challenges presented by such matters, the Report sets out EIOPA’s achievements over the year, some of which are as follows:

Sustainable Insurance and Pensions

• addressing protection gaps and promoting financial resilience for EU citizens and businesses;
• dealing with greenwashing through EIOPA’s final report and opinion on greenwashing, providing practical guidance for national supervisors and enhancing regulatory clarity on sustainability claims; and
• the “Fit for 55” climate risk scenario analysis to assess the financial sector’s resilience to climate shocks.

Support for Supervisors and Insurers

• actively monitored market trends, organised knowledge-sharing events, and engaged with EU legislative developments, including the AI Act, Financial Data Access Regulation and MiCA;
• the delivery of important technical standards in connection with DORA;
• work related to the adoption of the Solvency II Directive;
• woke as regards the implementation of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (“IRRD”), that entered into force at the start of 2025; and
• specifically addressing simplification, the Report states that EIOPA has introduced regulatory simplification in all areas of its work – from shortening Solvency II guidelines to promoting the streamlining of requirements related to product disclosures, product design and sales processes.

Supervision and Oversight

• the Report emphasises that EIOPA has continued to foster a common supervisory culture across the EU particularly in light of growing cross-border business activities; and
• consumer protection remained a core priority for EIOPA, with the Report highlighting that it focused on efforts to enhance transparency and fairness in financial products / monitored consumer trends / assessed the costs and performance of retail investment products.

Risks and Financial Stability

The Report sets out that EIOPA continued to focus on safeguarding financial stability in the EU’s insurance and pensions sectors by monitoring risks and vulnerabilities, particularly highlighting the publication of EIOPA’s quarterly risk dashboards on insurers and IORPs, and half-yearly financial stability report. The Report also refers to EIOPA’s focus on current risks, such as exposure to alternative assets and private credit, funded reinsurance, interconnectedness with other financial sectors.

Political Priorities of the European Commission

EIOPA has stated that it took note of the new political priorities of the European Commission (“Commission"), highlighting matters such as:

• rethinking the single market;
• enhancing Europe’s competitiveness and achieving greater simplification and burden reduction. In this regard, EIOPA stated that it “strongly believes that a robust framework is the basis of a sound industry – and, therefore, its long-term competitiveness”; and
• noting that EIOPA will be working closely with the Commission to enhance the savings and investment union by unlocking the potential of Europe’s savers to further develop capital markets.

Next Steps

In a related press release, EIOPA stated that, going forward, it will continue to ensure that the insurance industry remains robust, resilient and well regulated.