Welcome to the latest edition of KPMG Regulatory Horizons from KPMG's EMA Financial Services Risk & Regulatory Insight Centre (RRIC) – your ‘go to’ read for insights on financial services regulation from the perspective of the EMA region.

• Same agenda, new perspectives: regulators and supervisors have returned energetically to their pre-pandemic agendas, but there are changes to relative priorities and new perspectives. Sustainable finance and use of technology (including digitalisation) are at the forefront of many policymakers’ minds.
• Towards recovery: as lockdown measures ease, regulators start to consider what the recovery phase will look like and what lessons can be learned from recent events. As the financial sector emerges from the initial emergency response phase, many questions remain for policymakers and regulators, not least how best to unwind concessions and remove temporary restrictions, and how to rebuild economies, businesses and livelihoods, without creating unintended consequences.
• Addressing cross-border barriers: with some notable exceptions, barriers to cross-border business are being eroded. There are attempts to remove remaining distribution barriers within the EU and easing of the extra-territorial impacts of some jurisdictions’ rules. On the other hand, Brexit has created new borders that the industry must navigate.
• Sustainable finance regulation grows: after several months focusing on the impacts of COVID-19, regulators are returning to climate change risks and sustainable finance. International bodies are issuing analyses, EU ESG (environment, social, governance) rules are increasing, and supervisors are setting out their expectations.
• Digital currencies move forward: approaches develop as regulators seek to keep pace with innovation and its advantages, but concerns remain. In January, we commented on emerging crypto-asset regulation. There have been further developments. In addition, lockdown measures have resulted in reduced use of cash, which could lead to a permanent change in habits and a need for regulators to re-think.

Previous editions:

May 2020 (PDF 1.2 MB)
January 2020 (PDF 963 KB)
November 2019 (PDF 584KB)
July 2019 (PDF 2.9 MB)
May 2019 (PDF 504 KB)
January 2019 (PDF 1.1 MB)
October 2018 (PDF 705 KB)