FSC Announces New Legislation on Financial Benchmarks in South Korea
FSC announced the passing of the Financial Benchmark Act, which is a new bill to regulate financial benchmarks, in the National Assembly. The new legislation is intended to ensure the validity and credibility of financial benchmarks in response to global regulatory moves in which major countries, including EU, are introducing regulations on financial benchmarks. FSC expects that the Financial Benchmark Act will strengthen the management and supervision on financial benchmarks, which will help secure financial stability. The new legislation will take effect in November 2020. Meanwhile, the government will continue to work with EU for an approval that the new legislation is deemed equivalent to the Benchmarks Regulation in EU.
The following are the key features of the new legislation:
- Designation of critical benchmarks—FSC may designate benchmarks that would have a significant impact on financial market stability, consumer protection, and the real economy as “critical” benchmarks.
- Administrator of critical benchmarks—FSC may designate entities which determine, publish, and provide critical benchmark as administrators.
- Obligations of administrator—Administrators are required to establish a committee to deliberate on important matters in regard with establishing and revising operational rules, collecting input data, and calculating and determining critical benchmarks. Administrators are also required to disclose details about operational rules and management of conflict of interest on their websites. Administrators should review the validity of their operational rules at least every two years and disclose the results.
- Cessation of provision of critical benchmarks—Any administrator that intends to cease the provision of critical benchmarks for unexpected reasons shall post a public announcement on the reasons and the date of cessation for more than 20 days and report to the FSC six months before the date of cessation. FSC may order the transfer of such operations to other administrators or the continuation of such operations for a certain period of time not exceeding 24 months, if the cessation would have a significant impact on financial markets.
- Obligations of users—Users of critical benchmarks shall provide a counterparty to a financial contract with written explanations on critical benchmarks.
- Prohibition of distortion and manipulation—Contributors of input data and administrators are prohibited from engaging in distortion or manipulation of input data and benchmarks, in addition to other unlawful activities.
- Inspection and punitive measures—FSC is to oversee compliance with the Financial Benchmark Act by administrators and may impose punitive measures against violations of laws such as administrative orders, punitive fines, and penalties.
Related Link: Press Release (PDF)
Keywords: Asia Pacific, Korea, Banking, Securities, Financial Benchmarks, Benchmarks Regulation, EU, Critical Benchmarks, Equivalence Regime, Interest Rate Benchmark, FSC
Previous Article
FSB Publishes Summary of October Meeting of RCG for AmericasRelated Articles
HKMA Enhances Loan Guarantee Scheme to Alleviate Pressure on SMEs
HKMA announced that enhancements will be made to the Special 100% Loan Guarantee of the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) and the application period will be extended to December 31, 2021.
EBA Proposes Standards for Supervisory Cooperation Under IFD
EBA launched consultations on the regulatory and implementing technical standards on cooperation and information exchange between competent authorities involved in prudential supervision of investment firms.
BoE Sets Out Plan to Transform Data Collection from Financial Sector
BoE has set out a three-phased plan to transform data collection from the UK financial sector over the next decade.
BIS Issues Updates on Technology Initiatives on Cross-Border Payments
BIS recently made a couple of announcements with respect to the planned and ongoing work in the area of financial technology.
ESRB Updates List of Macro-Prudential Measures in February 2021
ESRB updated the list of national macro-prudential measures applied by each member state in the European Economic Area.
BoE Survey Shows Positive COVID Impact on Outsourced Banking Services
BoE has set out results of a survey on the impact of COVID-19 events on the use of machine learning and data science.
ECB Issues Opinion on Proposal to Regulate Crypto-Asset Markets in EU
In response to a request from the European Council and Parliament, ECB published an opinion on the proposed regulation on markets in crypto-assets.
APRA Announces Aggregate Committed Liquidity Facility for Banks
APRA announced the updated aggregate amounts for the 2021 Committed Liquidity Facility (CLF) established between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and certain locally incorporated authorized deposit-taking institutions that are subject to the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR).
ECB and UK Authorities Agree on Post-Brexit Supervisory Cooperation
ECB published supervisory Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with UK as well as other European and non-European authorities.
EIOPA Outlines Strategic Supervisory Priorities for Insurance Sector
EIOPA identified business model sustainability and adequate product design as the two EU-wide strategic supervisory priorities.