EBA and ESMA to clarify the prudential framework, IFRS 9 and consumer protection due to the coronavirus epidemic
On 25 March, the EBA and ESMA issued statements to the application of the prudential framework and the IFRS standard on financial instruments as well as consumer protection in light of the coronavirus epidemic. The Financial Supervisory Authority will take into account these statements in its supervision.
The EBA issued a release on 25 March regarding the application of the prudential framework and consumer protection in light of measures taken to mitigate the coronavirus epidemic. The objective of the statements presented in the release is to clarify the application of the concepts of default and forbearance. In addition, the release presents views on certain issues related to the IFRS standard on financial instruments. The FIN-FSA would like to draw the credit institutions’ attention to the fact that, to mitigate the operational challenges caused by a substantial number of modifications to payment schedules, a risk-based approach could be applied in processing solutions on a temporary basis, as proposed in the statement.
In addition, the statement discusses measures taken to ensure consumer protection and the functioning of payment services. It also announces the extension of certain deadlines due to the coronavirus epidemic.
In addition, ESMA issued a statement on 25 March providing application guidance on the calculation of expected credit losses in accordance with IFRS 9. The objective of this statement is to enhance consistent application of IFRSs and help listed companies identify provisions in IFRS 9 which include particular application challenges related to the coronavirus epidemic and measures taken to address it.
For further information, please contact
- Regarding the EBA release, Berndt Hertsberg, Head of Division, tel. +358 9 183 5011 or berndt.hertsberg(at)fiva.fi (prudential supervision) and Timo Peltonen, Senior Advisor, tel. +359 9 183 5551 or timo.peltonen(at)fiva.fi (consumer protection and payment services)
- Regarding the ESMA release, Tiina Visakorpi, Head of Division, tel. +358 9 183 5383 or tiina.visakorpi(at)fiva.fi
Appendices
The corresponding Finnish-language supervision release was published on 26 March 2020.