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The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published their response to the European Commission on the amendments the Commission proposes to make to the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on key information documents (KIDs) for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPS).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Report on cyclicality of banks’ capital requirements aiming at clarifying whether risk-sensitive bank capital requirements as laid down in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) create unintended pro-cyclical effects by reinforcing the endogenous relationships between the financial system and the real economy. This report, which has been drafted in close cooperation with the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) and the European Central Bank (ECB) is in response to a request by the European Commission to understand whether CRDIV/CRR requirements exert significant effects on the economic cycle and, if so, whether any remedial measures are justified. In addition, this Report may inform the European Commission’s currently ongoing reviews of the EU micro- and macro-prudential frameworks and could serve as a valuable complementary contribution to the global discussions about the bank capital regulatory framework.
In its meeting on 6 December 2016, the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA) decided to carry out its next EU-wide stress test in 2018, in line with its previous decision to aim for a biennial exercise. The EBA will start immediately to prepare the methodology for the 2018 stress test exercise, which will also include an assessment of the impact of IFRS 9, which will be implemented on 1 January 2018. This decision has been communicated to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. In 2017, the EBA will perform its regular annual transparency exercise.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its third impact assessment Report for the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), together with a review of its phasing-in period. The Report shows a constant improvement of the average LCR across EU banks since 2011. At the reporting date of 31 December 2015, EU banks’ average LCR was significantly above the 100% minimum requirement, which will have to be fully implemented by January 2018, and no strong evidence was found suggesting that the EBA should recommend an extension of the phasing-in period of the LCR. The Report, which is based on liquidity data from 194 EU banks across 17 Member States, is the first publication after the implementation of the minimum binding standards in 2015 and accounts for the provisions of the Commission’s Delegated Regulation on the LCR.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the supervision of significant branches. Prompted by the increasing demand to establish branches across the European Union, these Guidelines are designed to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the Competent Authorities (CAs). They will assist them in supervising the largest systemically important branches, the so-called “significant-plus” branches, which require intensified supervision.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report including recommendations on how to harmonise covered bond framework in the EU. This Report represents an unparalleled attempt to further strengthen the covered bonds across the EU and seeks to ensure that only those financial instruments that comply with the harmonised structural, credit risk and prudential standards can be branded as ‘covered bonds’ and have access to special regulatory and capital treatment as provided in the current EU financial regulation.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a data collection for commodity derivatives firms that will support the European Commission in the calibration of the new prudential regime for investment firms. This exercise follows up on the consultation the EBA launched on 4 November 2016 in response to the European Commission's call for technical advice on the design of a new prudential regime for investment firms, including the extent to which the new regime would also be suitable for or adaptable to specialised commodity derivatives firms.
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) launched today a public consultation about the potential benefits and risks of Big Data for consumers and financial firms to determine whether any further regulatory or supervisory actions may be needed.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a qualitative survey on internal ratings-based (IRB) models to analyse the impact of the EBA draft Guidelines on the estimation of risk parameters for non-defaulted exposures, namely of the probability of default (PD) and the loss given default (LGD), and on the treatment of defaulted assets, which are currently under consultation.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying the framework for cooperation and exchange of information between Competent Authorities for passport notifications under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The technical standards will ensure that information about payment institutions and e-money institutions that carry out business in one or more EU Member States is exchanged consistently between the national authorities of the home and host Member States.
The EBA published today its final Report on the implementation and design of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL). The Report quantifies the current MREL stack and estimates potential financing needs of European Union (EU) banks under various scenarios. It also assesses the possible macroeconomic costs and benefits of introducing MREL in the EU. Finally, the Report recommends a number of changes to reinforce the MREL framework and integrate the international standards on total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) in the EU’s MREL.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines developed in close cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB) under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The draft Guidelines specify (i) the criteria for classifying operational or security incidents as major, (ii) the template to be used by payment service providers when notifying them to the Competent Authorities (CAs,) and (iii) the indicators CAs need to use when assessing the relevance of such incidents. These Guidelines are in support of the objectives of the PSD2 of strengthening the integrated payments market across the European Union (EU), ensuring a consistent application of the legislative framework, promoting equal conditions for competition, providing a secure framework on the payments environment and protecting consumers.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its ninth report on risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector. The report is accompanied by the EBA's 2016 transparency exercise, which provides essential data, in a comparable and accessible format, for 131 banks across the EU. Overall, banks have further strengthened their capital position, allowing them to continue the process of repair. The report identifies as the key challenges in that process the remaining high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) and sustained low profitability. Operational risks also appear to be on the rise and volatility in funding markets remains high.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its fourth updated list of capital instruments that Competent Supervisory Authorities (CAs) across the European Union (EU) have classified as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). Since the publication of the previous update in September 2016, some new CET1 instruments have been assessed and evaluated as compliant with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The list will be maintained and updated on a regular basis.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its amended final draft implementing technical standards (ITS) on the reporting of financial information. The amended ITS follow the finalisation of IFRS 9 in July 2014 by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and its endorsement into EU law on 22 November 2016 and aim at aligning the reporting framework with the new IFRS 9 requirements while ensuring reporting institutions have adequate implementation time.
The EBA announced today that its annual risk assessment report accompanied by detailed individual data for the banks participating in the 2016 EU-wide transparency exercise will be published on Friday 2 December 2016 at 22:00 Central European Summer Time (21:00 GMT).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a second impact assessment of IFRS 9, which builds on the results of its first exercise published on 10 November 2016. The EBA expects that institutions will be able to provide more detailed and accurate insights into their implementation of IFRS 9 as the information provided by the respondents in the first exercise reflected the early stage of implementation.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) that specify the conditions under which Competent Authorities assess the significance of positions included in the scope of market risk internal models, as well as the methodology they shall apply when assessing an institution’s compliance with the requirements to use an Internal Model Approach (IMA) for market risk. These draft RTS are a key component of the EBA's work to ensure consistency in models’ outputs and comparability of risk-weighted exposures and will contribute to harmonise the supervisory assessment methodology across all EU Member States and, ultimately, to restore confidence in the use of such models for regulatory purposes.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today additional information on the application of the proportionality principle to the remuneration provisions laid down in the Capital Requirements Directive in response to a request for advice from the European Commission.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the list of public sector entities (PSEs) that may be treated as regional governments, local authorities or central governments in the area of credit risk, in accordance with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). This list will assist EU institutions in determining their capital requirements for credit risk.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today for consultation a proposal to review its Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on additional monitoring metrics for liquidity, which mainly consists of reintroducing a maturity ladder in line with the reporting requirements laid down in the Commission’s Delegated Act on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). These revised ITS aim at providing Competent Authorities with harmonised information on institutions’ liquidity risk profile, taking into account the nature, scale and complexity of their activities.
The Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published today its final Guidelines on the characteristics of a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing supervision and the steps to be taken when conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis. These guidelines form part of the Joint Committee's work to establish consistent, effective and risk-based supervisory practices across the European Union and contribute to a more robust European anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. They are consistent with international AML/CFT standards.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the estimation of risk parameters for non-defaulted exposures, namely of the probability of default (PD) and the loss given default (LGD), and on the treatment of defaulted assets. These draft Guidelines are part of the EBA’s broader work on the review of the IRB approach aimed at reducing the unjustified variability in the outcomes of internal models, while preserving the risk sensitivity of capital requirements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today for consultation revised Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting. The proposed amendments concern new requirements for the reporting of information on sovereign exposures and changed requirements for the reporting of operational risk data. The standards on supervisory reporting aim at collecting information on institutions’ compliance with prudential requirements in a consistent way and need to be updated whenever prudential or supervisory requirements change. This consultation runs until 7 January 2017.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report including some qualitative and quantitative observations of its first impact assessment of IFRS 9. This exercise, which helped the EBA understand the way in which institutions are preparing for the application of IFRS 9, also contains some recommendations relevant to the observations as well as some future actions, including the interaction of IFRS 9 with existing prudential requirements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on (i) regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the information to be provided to Competent Authorities for the authorisation of credit institutions and (ii) implementing technical standards (ITS) on the templates and procedures for the provision of such information. These standards aim at harmonising the information requirements in the authorisation process across the EU, thus facilitating the application process and ensuring a level playing field.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report in response to two calls for advice to assist the European Commission in the adoption into European legislation of two new international frameworks proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS): (i) a new standardised framework for counterparty risk (CCR), i.e. the so-called SA-CCR, and (ii) a new market risk (MKR) framework - the so-called fundamental review of the trading book (FRTB). In the Report, the EBA focuses on the envisaged impact of these two frameworks, for both large and small firms, and issues recommendations on their implementation.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation in response to the European Commission's call for technical advice on the design of a new prudential regime for investment firms, which is specifically tailored to the needs of investment firms’ different business models and inherent risks. The aim of this work is to develop a single, harmonised set of requirements that are reasonably simple, proportionate, and more relevant to the nature of investment business. The consultation runs until 2 February 2017.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines specifying the information to be provided by applicants intending to obtain authorisation as payment and electronic money institutions as well as to register as account information service providers under the revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2).These Guidelines are in support of the objective of PSD2 of strengthening an integrated payments market across the European Union, ensuring a consistent application of the legislative framework, and promoting equal conditions for competition. The consultation runs until 3 February 2017.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on the collection of information related to the internal capital adequacy assessment process (ICAAP) and the internal liquidity adequacy assessment process (ILAAP). These Guidelines aim at facilitating a consistent approach to the supervisory assessment of ICAAP and ILAAP frameworks across the EU as part of the supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final report on the reference point for the target level of national resolution financing arrangements. In the report, the EBA recommends changing the basis from covered deposits to a total liabilities-based measure and, in particular, total liabilities (excluding own funds) less covered deposits. The proposed methodology would align the target level basis with the reference base used for the calculation of individual contributions to national resolution financing arrangements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its revised Guidelines on internal governance. These draft Guidelines aim at further harmonising institutions’ internal governance arrangements, processes and mechanisms across the EU, in line with the new requirements in this area introduced in the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) and also taking into account the proportionality principle. The consultation runs until 28 January 2017.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched today a consultation on Guidelines on the Assessment of the Suitability of the Members of Management Body and Key Function Holders (the Guidelines). The draft Guidelines aim at further improving and harmonising suitability assessments within the EU financial sectors and so ensure sound governance arrangements in financial institutions.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the procedures and templates which Resolution Authorities should use when informing the EBA of the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) that have been set for each institution under their jurisdiction. These standards will enable the EBA to monitor on a consistent basis the implementation of MREL across the Union.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its response to the European Commission’s call for advice of 26 April 2016 on the review of the large exposures framework laid down in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The EBA’s response has been provided in the form of a report divided in three different sections and including also recommendations to entrust the EBA with additional mandates to further simplify and harmonise the large exposures regime. This report will support the Commission in its review of the large exposures framework as part of the overall CRR review.
On 18 November 2016, from 13.00 to 16.00 UK time, the European Banking Authority (EBA) will be holding a public hearing to outline its draft proposals on the European covered bond framework. The hearing comes as a follow-up to the recommendation by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) and ahead of the expected publication of the final report by end of 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) responded today to the European Commission’s call for technical advice on the criteria to identify the class of investment firms for which the prudential regime laid down in the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) and Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) is applicable. In general, the EBA recommends that only those investment firms that are currently identified as Other Systemically Important Institutions (OSIIs) remain subject to the full CRD/CRR regime.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its detailed annual work programme for 2017, describing the specific activities and tasks of the Authority for the coming year, as well as a multiannual work programme, highlighting the key strategic areas of work in the coming years (from 2017 to 2020).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a reminder to competent authorities of the key dates for the submission of data for the 2017 benchmarking exercise for internal approaches for credit and market risk. This would ensure a smooth and timely start of the exercise although the Commission’s endorsement of the amended version of the Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on benchmarking of internal approaches for running the 2017 exercise is still pending.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on corrections to modified duration for debt instruments. The objective of these Guidelines is to establish what type of adjustments to the modified duration (MD) - as defined according to the formulas in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) - have to be performed in order to appropriately reflect the effect of the prepayment risk. The Guidelines will contribute towards the successful implementation of the Commission's securitisation package under the Capital Markets Union reform, giving clarity on the matter to credit institutions.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) updated today the list of closely correlated currencies that was originally published in December 2013 and updated in May 2015. The list is part of the implementing technical standards (ITS) that were drafted for the purposes of calculating the capital requirements for foreign-exchange risk according to the standardised rules. The list was updated according to the procedure and methodology laid down in the ITS.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its updated Report on the monitoring of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments and proposed standardised templates for AT1 instruments.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the assessment of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risk in the context of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). These draft Guidelines are addressed to competent authorities and aim at promoting common procedures and methodologies for the assessment of ICT risk.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on implicit support for securitisation transactions. The objective of these Guidelines is to clarify what constitutes arm’s length conditions and to specify when a transaction is not structured to provide support for securitisations. The Guidelines will contribute towards the successful implementation of the Commission’s securitisation package under the Capital Markets Union reform, giving clarity on the matter to credit institutions.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the periodic update of its Risk Dashboard. This report summarises the main risks and vulnerabilities in the banking sector by the evolution of a set of Risk Indicators (RI) across the EU in Q2 2016. The update shows an increase in EU banks’ capital ratios, while the low profitability and the high level of NPLs remain a concern.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines specifying the application of the definition of default across the EU and its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the materiality threshold of past due credit obligations. The EBA also released the results of a quantitative and qualitative impact study (QIS) aimed at assessing the impact on the regulatory capital requirements of selected policy options to harmonise the definition of default used by EU institutions. Both the Guidelines and the final draft RTS will harmonise the definition of default across the EU, thus contributing to improving consistency and comparability of capital requirements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on remuneration policies and practices related to the provision and sale of retail banking products and services. The EBA had previously identified poor remuneration policies and practices as a key driver of miss-selling of financial products and services. The Guidelines aim, therefore, to protect consumers from related risks and to reduce conduct costs for financial institutions. They will apply from 18 January 2018.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the procedures, forms and templates that Competent Authorities in the EU should use when consulting each other on qualifying holdings. The objective of these ITS is to streamline information exchanges and ensure effective communications between concerned authorities, both on a cross-border basis and across sectors.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a consultation paper on draft technical standards setting out the standardised terminology for services linked to a payment account, the standardised format and common symbol of both the fee information document (FID) and the statement of fees (SoF).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the criteria Competent Authorities should consider when stipulating the minimum monetary amount of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) or comparable guarantee for payment initiation and account information service providers under the revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2).
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) today hosts its 4th “Joint ESAs Consumer Protection Day” in Paris.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its tenth report of the CRDIV-CRR/Basel III monitoring exercise on the European banking system. This exercise, run in parallel with the one conducted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) at a global level, presents aggregate data on capital ratios – risk-based and non-risk-based (leverage) – and liquidity ratios – the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR) – for banks across the European Union (EU). It summarises the results using data as of 31 December 2015.
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA, ESMA - ESAs), published today their Opinion addressed to the European Commission expressing disagreement with its proposed amendments to the final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on risk mitigation techniques for OTC derivatives not cleared by a central counterparty, which were originally submitted for endorsement on 8 March 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report analysing the core funding ratio across the EU. The Report is in response to a request from the European Commission to explore the possibilities of the core stable funding ratio (CFR) as a potential alternative metrics for the assessment of EU banks’ funding risk, taking into account proportionality. The Report concludes that, overall, it would be misleading to rely only on the CFR to assess banks’ funding needs because, unlike the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR), the CFR does not look at the whole balance sheet of a bank and, therefore, cannot fully assess a potential funding gap. This Report is based on the same QIS data used for the NSFR Report published in December 2015.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its third updated list of capital instruments that Competent Supervisory Authorities (CAs) across the European Union (EU) have classified as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). Since the publication of the previous update in October 2015, some new CET1 instruments have been assessed and evaluated as compliant with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The list will be maintained and updated on a regular basis.
In an Opinion issued today, the EBA welcomed the Commission’s proposal to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers within the scope of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The Authority also makes several recommendations aimed at supporting the consistent pan-EU implementation and supervision of the proposals that the Commission had published on 5 July 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the outcome of a review of its Single Rulebook Q&As, which provides an overview of possible errors, inconsistencies as well as fundamental issues in relation to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) observed via the Single Rulebook Q&A tool managed by the ЕВА.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today indicators from 36 large institutions in the EU, as provided for in the Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) and Guidelines on disclosure rules applicable to institutions whose leverage ratio exposure measure exceeds 200 billion Euro.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an amended version, submitted to the EU Commission, of its Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on benchmarking of internal approaches, for running the 2017 exercise . The amended ITS will assist Competent Authorities in their 2017 assessment of internal approaches both for credit risk, and for market risk.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its report on the impact assessment and calibration of the Leverage Ratio (LR), recommending the introduction of a LR minimum requirement in the EU to mitigate the risk of excessive leverage. The analysis suggests that the potential impact of introducing a LR requirement of 3% on the provision of financing by credit institutions would be relatively moderate, while, overall, it should lead to more stable credit institutions. The report will inform the work of the European Commission on potential legislative proposals on LR.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a list of designated Resolution Authorities. Under the EU framework, each Member State has to designate one or, exceptionally, more Resolution Authorities that are empowered to apply the resolution tools and the resolution powers.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying the requirements with which payment card schemes and processing entities must comply to ensure the independence of their accounting, organisation, and decision-making processes. These final draft RTS aim at facilitating greater competition among processing services providers, supporting the general objective of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) to create a Single Market for card payments across the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on criteria for the application of a preferential treatment in cross-border intragroup credit or liquidity lines, or within an IPS. These RTS further specify the additional criteria listed in the in the context of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) Delegated Act for the application of the preferential treatment.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an example of the transparency templates, which will be used to disclose the results of the upcoming 2016 EU-wide stress test. These templates are provided for information and to facilitate understanding of the format and type of data that can be expected on Friday 29 July.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on draft Guidelines on credit institutions’ credit risk management practices and accounting for expected credit losses; it follows the publication of Guidance by the Basel Committee in December 2015 on the same matter. These Guidelines aim at ensuring sound credit risk management practices associated with the implementation and on-going application of the accounting for expected credit losses. The consultation will run until 26 October 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the treatment of connected clients for large exposures. These draft Guidelines review and update the ‘Guidelines on the implementation of the revised large exposures regime’ issued by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) on 11 December 2009. Their focus is exclusively on the issue of connected clients as defined in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and they reflect the developments in the area of shadow banking and large exposures both at EU and international level. The consultation runs until 26 October 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on the communication between competent authorities supervising credit institutions and statutory auditors of those institutions.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a consultation on its report on the reference point for the target level of national resolution financing arrangements. The appropriateness of the basis for the target level is assessed on the basis of a number of qualitative criteria and historical data. The draft report recommends changing the basis from covered deposits to a total liabilities based measure. The consultation will run until 2 September 2016.
The EBA today issued a report on recent trends in asset quality in the EU banking sector. The analysis is based on supervisory data on non-performing loans (NPLs) and forbearance (FBL) for over 160 EU banks. The report shows that despite improvements NPLs remain high, with associated implications for the economy and bank’s profitability. The report identifies various structural impediments to addressing NPLs and sets out three key areas for improvement.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying the assessment methodology competent authorities shall follow in assessing the compliance of an institution with the requirements for the use of the Internal Ratings Based Approach (IRB Approach). The purpose of these RTS is to harmonise the supervisory assessment methodology with respect to the IRB Approach across all Member States in the European Union (EU).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched today a public consultation on its interim report on the implementation and design of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL). The interim report is addressed to the European Commission, and it will inform a future legislative proposal on the implementation of the Financial Stability Board’s “total loss-absorbing capacity” (TLAC) standard in the EU and the review of MREL. Further elements will be covered in the EBA’s final report which will be provided to the European Commission by 31 October 2016.
The EBA announced today that detailed individual results for the banks participating in the 2016 EU-wide stress test, along with detailed balance sheets and exposure data as of end 2015, will be published on Friday 29 July 2016 at 22:00 Central European Summer Time (21:00 British Summer Time).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a data collection aimed at supporting the response to the European Commission's Call for Advice on a new prudential framework for MifiD (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) investment firms, which should be less complex, more risk sensitive and more proportionate than the current regime.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued a benchmarking analysis of diversity practices at EU level showing that only a limited number of institutions have already adopted a diversity policy. In particular, the report highlights that the actual level of diversity in the composition of the management body in institutions differs significantly between Member States, namely regarding the gender diversity. The Authority calls on institutions and Member States to consider additional measures for promoting a more balanced representation of both genders. The report is based on data from 873 institutions from 29 EU and EEA Member States, and covers credit institutions of different sizes as well as investment firms.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the periodical update of its Risk Dashboard summarising the main risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector on the basis of a set of Risk Indicators in Q1 2016. Together with the Risk Dashboard, the EBA published, for the first time, the results of a Risk Assessment Questionnaire, which it conducted with banks and market analysts in April and May this year.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) announced today that it will be conducting a transparency exercise in December 2016 on a wide sample of over 100 banks, which will provide actual information on banks’ balance sheet based on supervisory reporting data. Transparency exercises are an annual feature of the EBA’s work but this year’s exercise will be independent from, whilst complementary to, the 2016 EU-wide stress test. This will ensure appropriate coverage of banks across all countries in the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a comparative Report on governance arrangements and indicators in recovery plans. Such a benchmarking exercise is aimed at supporting supervisors and institutions in identifying the crucial elements that should be considered when designing credible governance arrangements and effective indicator frameworks. This is the third thematic comparative analysis the EBA has conducted in the area of recovery planning.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its second analysis of the level of asset encumbrance across EU banking institutions. The report, which is part of a regular annual monitoring of asset encumbrance, aims to provide important elements for EU supervisors to assess the sustainability of banks’ funding sources and their ability to withstand funding stress.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today additional information on how the results of the EU-wide stress test will inform the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). The focus of today’s update is to explain how additional “capital guidance” can be used as a tool to address the quantitative outcomes of the stress test. Such guidance will not be relevant for the Maximum Distributable Amount (MDA), but will ensure banks’ ability to meet applicable capital requirements under stressed conditions. While serving the purpose of helping supervisors manage expectations towards banks and market participants, the information released today does not establish restrictions or constraints on existing supervisory powers.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on a set of Guidelines on regulatory disclosure requirements following an update of the Pillar 3 requirements by the Basel Committee in January 2015. These Guidelines are part of the EBA’s work to improve and enhance the consistency and comparability of institutions’ disclosures and aim to ensure market discipline. The consultation runs until 29 September 2016.
At its meeting held on 22 June 2016, the Banking Stakeholder Group of the European Banking Authority elected Santiago Fernandez de Lis, representing the credit and investment institutions, as Chairperson and Alin Eugen Iacob, representing the users of banking services, as Vice-Chairperson.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its fifth annual Consumer Trends Report, which provides an overview of the trends observed in 2016, the issues that will or could have an impact on consumers and other market participants and the areas where the EBA may take any action, if needed. The report covers all the products that fall into the EBA’s consumer protection mandate, such as mortgages, personal loans, deposits, payment accounts, payment services and electronic money.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying how institutions should take into account and treat several factors when assigning risk weights to specialised lending exposures. The purpose of these RTS is to harmonise the assignment of risk weights to specialised lending exposures for institutions that apply the so called ‘supervisory slotting criteria’ approach. These final draft RTS will be part of the Single Rulebook aimed at enhancing regulatory harmonisation in the banking sector in Europe.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Decision on data for supervisory benchmarking. This Decision comes after the publication of the amended technical standards on benchmarking of internal approaches and requires Competent Authorities to submit data for the 2016 benchmarking exercise, focusing on High Default Portfolios and with reference to end-2015 data.
On 31 May 2016, the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Investment Bank Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) hosted a seminar to discuss opportunities and challenges on the role and potential use of credit guarantees and synthetic securitisation in the banking sector.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) welcomes the enhancement of the FX Global Code (the Code) and the publication of its May 2016 update. The objective of the Code is to promote the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale FX market. The Code’s guidelines for responsible participation in the FX market are in line with the EBA’s work fostering financial institutions’ effective governance and enhanced consumer protection in all areas of financial products and services.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on stress tests for deposit guarantee schemes (DGSs). The Guidelines provide a systematic methodology for planning, running and reporting on stress tests conducted by DGSs to assess their resilience to various types of scenarios in times of banking stress. In line with the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD), these Guidelines will promote the quality and the consistency of these stress tests. The resulting data will also facilitate future peer reviews by the EBA, contributing to a safe and sound EU framework for the benefit of depositors and financial stability.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Decision confirming the use of unsolicited credit assessments assigned by certain External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs) for calculating institutions’ capital requirements. The Decision is part of the Single Rulebook in banking and will ensure regulatory harmonisation across the European Union (EU) regarding the use of unsolicited credit ratings for determining institutions’ own funds requirements.
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA, ESMA - ESAs) published today its Opinion on the European Commission’s (EC) intention to amend the draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the mapping of External Credit Assessment Institutions’ (ECAIs) credit assessments under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and Solvency II Directive. The Opinion was produced in response to the EC’s proposed amendments to these draft ITS.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) disclosure. These Guidelines harmonise and specify both the qualitative and quantitative information that institutions are required to disclose on liquidity and namely on the LCR. The consultation will run until 11 August 2016.
EBA acknowledges another notification from the Central Bank of Hungary on the ongoing resolution of MKB Bank Zrt.
The EBA has received another notification from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary) related to the application of the sale of business tool in the ongoing resolution process of MKB Bank Zrt.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a guidance document to assist competent authorities in compiling IMF Financial Soundness Indicators (FSI) for deposit takers using statistical input derived from the EBA Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting. Authorities are encouraged to use this guidance and the comprehensive mapping between the FSI forms and the EBA ITS templates to foster harmonised FSI reporting by the EEA authorities. In addition, it provides transparency to FSI users on how they have been computed for EEA countries.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Discussion Paper on innovative uses of consumer data by financial institutions, in line with its mandate to monitor financial innovation. The paper identifies risks and benefits for consumers and financial institutions, as well as for financial integrity in general. Feedback received on this Discussion Paper will inform the EBA’s decision on which, if any, further actions may be required to mitigate the risks arising from this innovation, while also allowing market participants to harness its benefits.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today corrective updates to two versions of its XBRL taxonomies for supervisory reporting, correcting technical errors in the implementation of some validation rules.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today an Opinion to the European Commission supporting its proposed amendment to the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on additional collateral outflows with regard to the historical look-back approach (HLBA) calculation method. The amendment follows the European Commission’s request to amend the draft RTS using the specifications provided by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the disclosure of encumbered and unencumbered assets for the provision of transparent and harmonised information on the topic, as laid down in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). These draft RTS, which build on the EBA Guidelines on the same topic, detail the disclosure requirements and provide additional information. The consultation will run until 25 July 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the first list of Other Systemically Important Institutions (O-SIIs) in the EU. O-SIIs are those institutions which are deemed systemically relevant in addition to Global Systemically Important Institutions (G-SIIs), already identified. The institutions have been identified by relevant authorities across the Union according to harmonised criteria provided by the EBA. This list reflects also the additional capital buffers that the relevant authorities have set for the O-SIIs they have identified.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines defining how confidential information collected under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) should be disclosed in summary or collective form without identifying individual institutions or relevant entities.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued its Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG) end of term of office report. The document covers the outputs of the BSG for the second term of the Membership whose appointment fell between October 2013 and 15 April 2016, as well as information on its working methodology and its interaction with the EBA.
EBA acknowledges additional notification from the Central Bank of Hungary on the ongoing resolution of MKB Bank Zrt.
The EBA has received an additional notification from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary) related to the application of the sale of business tool in the ongoing resolution process of MKB Bank Zrt.
Following an open selection process, the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA) appointed 23 new members to its Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG), as the mandate for the majority of them expired on 14 April 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Opinion setting out measures credit and financial institutions can take to comply with EU Anti- Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) requirements when providing asylum seekers from higher-risk jurisdictions with access to basic financial products and services.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report analysing measures taken by Competent Authorities in 2014 to ensure compliance by institutions with securitisation risk retention, due diligence and disclosure requirements. Based on the EBA findings, the EBA has identified best practices, which will help Competent Authorities in their supervisory assessments of compliance of these requirements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launches today a call for research papers in view of its fifth policy research workshop taking place on 28-29 November 2016 in London on the topic ‘Competition in banking: implications for financial regulation and supervision’.
On 31 May 2016, the European Banking Authority (EBA), jointly with the European Investment Bank Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund), will host a seminar at the EBA premises to discuss opportunities and challenges on the role and potential use of credit guarantees and synthetic securitisation in the banking sector.
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA, ESMA - ESAs) published today its Spring 2016 Report on Risks and Vulnerabilities in the EU Financial System.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the periodical update of its Risk Dashboard summarising the main risks and vulnerabilities in the banking sector on the basis of the evolution of a set of Risk Indicators (RI) across the EU in Q4 2015. The update shows a further increase in EU banks’ capital ratios. Profitability remains low and NPL ratios are still high.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on draft amending Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on credit valuation adjustment (CVA) proxy spread. These RTS propose limited amendments to Commission’s Delegated Regulation (EU) No 526/2014 based on two policy recommendations contained in the EBA’s CVA report published on 25 February 2015. Through the proposed amendments the EBA expects to ensure a more adequate calculation of own funds requirements for CVA risk. The consultation runs until 06 July 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) report on remuneration practices published today shows that the number of high earners in EU banks increased significantly in 2014, while the average ratio between the variable and fixed remuneration dropped significantly for high earners, as well as for all other identified staff. The report, which is part of the regular activities of the Authority, focuses on the identification of staff, the application of deferral arrangements, the pay-out in instruments and the impact of the bonus cap on institutions financial stability and cost flexibility, which was found to have no significant effect. The report differentiates between data on the remuneration of “high-earners” and benchmarking data for “identified staff”.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on reporting financial information using Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) across EU jurisdictions. This is a decentralised public consultation, which takes place through National Competent Authorities across the EU and not through the EBA, so as to allow for a better informed discussion on questions that may be specific to the individual jurisdictions across the EU. All interested stakeholders can provide feedback directly to their National Competent Authorities (NCAs) by 15 April 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which analyses (i) the evolution of lending trends and conditions for SMEs, (ii) the effective riskiness of EU SMEs over a full economic cycle and (iii) the consistency of own funds requirements laid down in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) for credit risk on exposures to SMEs. Overall, the results of the EBA analysis show limited effectiveness of the SME Supporting Factor (SF). However, more data is needed before drawing firm conclusions and, therefore, the EBA recommends continued monitoring of the application of the SF.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on draft Guidelines on corrections to modified duration for debt instruments. These Guidelines aim to establish what type of adjustments to the modified duration (MD) - as defined according to the formulas in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) - have to be performed in order to appropriately reflect the effect of the prepayment risk. The consultation runs until 22 June 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Decision specifying the formula to be used by creditors when calculating the benchmark rate under the Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD). The MCD requires creditors to use, under certain circumstances, a benchmark rate specified by the EBA for the illustrative examples in the European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) for variable rate mortgages. The EBA formula will apply 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal but can also be used by creditors prior to its formal publication.
The EBA submitted on Friday its response to the European Commission’s Green Paper on Retail Financial Services. In the response, the EBA conveys the views of its member authorities on a subset of the questions asked in the Green Paper, with a particular focus on the risks and opportunities of digital services in the banking sector and the enforcement of consumer protection regulation in the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) will hold a public hearing on its draft report on the calibration of the leverage ratio on Friday 15 April 2016 from 9.00 to 11.30 UK time.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) amending the Commission's Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014 on supervisory reporting.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a corrective update (2.4.1) to the XBRL taxonomy that Competent Authorities shall use for the remittance of data under the EBA Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting. The revised taxonomy will be used for the first reports under the revised Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Leverage Ratio (LR) requirements resulting from Delegated Acts of the European Commission.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on the inclusion of prudent valuation into COREP, the reporting framework through which EU banking institutions report supervisory information. The amendments proposed by the EBA reflect the prudent valuation requirements in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2016/101. This public consultation will run until 30 March 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its ninth report of the CRDIV-CRR/Basel III monitoring exercise on the European banking system. This exercise, run in parallel with the one conducted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) at a global level, allows the gathering of aggregate results on capital – risk-based and non-risk-based (leverage) ratios – and liquidity ratios – the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR) – for banks in the European Union (EU). It summarises the results using data as of 30 June 2015.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its annual assessment of EU colleges of supervisors, the forum within which joint decisions on capital and liquidity and recovery plans are organised for EU cross border banking groups. The report assesses how colleges have functioned during 2015 and identifies key activities for the effective oversight of EU cross border banking groups in 2016. In addition, it draws the attention of supervisors to some specific items for 2016, including non-performing loans (NPLs) and balance sheet cleaning, business model sustainability, conduct risk and IT risk.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an Opinion following the notification by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) of its intention to extend a measure introduced by the NBB in 2014 to modify capital requirements in order to address an increase in macroprudential or systemic risk. Based on the evidence submitted by the NBB, the EBA does not object the deployment of the macroprudential measures to address this issue.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) released today the methodology and macroeconomic scenarios for the 2016 EU-wide stress test. The stress test is designed to provide supervisors, banks and other market participants with a common analytical framework to consistently compare and assess the resilience of EU banks to economic shocks. For this exercise, no single capital thresholds have been defined as the results will inform the 2016 round of Supervisory Review and Evaluation Processes (SREP) under which decisions are made on appropriate capital resources. The EBA expects to publish the results of the exercise in early Q3 2016.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the periodical update to its Risk Dashboard summarising the main risks and vulnerabilities in the banking sector on the basis of the evolution of a set of Risk Indicators (RI) across the EU. The dashboard is based on a larger sample of banks (154 institutions on a consolidated basis ) and the “Statistical Annex” provides further data on EU banks. The ratios published in the Dashboard are computed according to the “Methodological guide on risk indicators and detailed risk analysis tools”, also published today.
The EBA has received a notification from the Bank of Italia, in its capacity as the Resolution Authority, in relation to the application of resolution measures to the Banca delle Marche, Banca Popolare dell’Etruria e del Lazio, Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara and Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Chieti.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) will formally launch the 2016 EU-wide stress test on Wednesday 24 February 2016 at 5pm. Along with the announcement, the EBA will publish the common methodology and macroeconomic scenarios for this exercise.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final Guidelines on cooperation agreements between deposit guarantee schemes (DGSs). These Guidelines include a multilateral cooperation framework agreement and minimum prescriptions to promote the rapid and consistent conclusion of cooperation agreements between DGSs, as provided under the new Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the mapping of External Credit Assessment Institutions’ (ECAIs) credit assessments for securitisation positions. These ITS will be part of the Single Rulebook in banking aimed at enhancing regulatory harmonisation across the European Union (EU) and will allow the credit ratings on securitisations assigned by registered credit rating agencies to be used for the purposes of calculating institutions’ capital requirements.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today an Opinion to the European Commission expressing its dissent over some of its proposed amendments to the EBA final draft Regulatory Technical Standard (RTS) on the criteria for setting the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and encouraging the prompt adoption of the standard.
Andrea Enria, Chairperson of the EBA, in his opening remarks at the EBA’s 5th Anniversary Conference, touched on the EBA’s achievements in the last five years and the challenges that still lie ahead for the Authority.
As the European Banking Authority (EBA) gets ready to mark its first five years of activities with its conference in London this Friday, Chairperson Andrea Enria explains the conference will be about dialogue with banking stakeholders on achievements and remaining challenges in strengthening the EU banking sector.
In the context of the forthcoming implementation of the IFRS 9 Financial instruments standard (IFRS 9) in the EU, the European Banking Authority (EBA) is launching an impact assessment of the standard on a sample of approximately 50 institutions across the EU.
The Chairpersons of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – sent a joint letter on cross-selling of financial products to Jonathan Hill, the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
The Joint Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs – European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and European Securities and Markets Authority) published today its decision in an appeal brought by four appellants, Andrus Kluge, Boris Belyaev, Radio Elektroniks OÜ and Timur Dyakov, against a decision of the European Banking Authority (EBA). The Board of Appeal decided it does not have any jurisdiction with respect to the party’s appeal to challenge a decision by the EBA not to commence an investigation.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on draft Guidelines on implicit support for securitisation transactions. The objective of the Guidelines is to provide clarity on what constitutes arm’s length conditions and when a transaction is not structured to provide support for securitisations. The consultation runs until 20 April 2016.
On 19 February 2016 from 14:00 to 16:00, the European Banking Authority (EBA) will hold a public hearing on the consultation launched on its draft technical standards on the separation of payment card schemes and processing entities under the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR).
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today revised final draft technical standards and Guidelines on the further specification of the indicators of global systemic importance and their disclosure. The need for this revision was prompted by the new data template and some minor changes introduced by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in January 2015 for the identification of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). The full data template with the detailed specification of the indicator values will now only be incorporated in the EBA Guidelines and will be updated on an annual basis.
The EBA has received a notification from the Bank of Greece, in its capacity as the Resolution Authority, in relation to the application of resolution measures to the Cooperative Bank of Peloponnese Coop Ltd, following the withdrawal of its license.
The EBA acknowledges updated notification from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary) with respect to its decisions on the application of the asset separation tool and related resolution measures in the ongoing resolution process of MKB Bank Zrt.


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Why Take the TOEFL® Test?
Sure, you can take a test with a Speaking interview, but what if your interviewer has a bad day and rates you lower than you deserve? With the TOEFL test, there's no doubt your score is more objective and reliable, because Speaking responses are recorded and evaluated by three to six ETS raters rather than only one rater from a local testing site.
TOEFL test scores help you stand out because of the TOEFL test's reputation for quality, fairness and 100% academic content. It is the most widely accepted English-language test in the world, including more than 9,000 colleges, universities, agencies and other institutions in 130 countries. And that list includes the top 100 universities in the world.
By sending TOEFL scores to your selected university, you will be proving that you are ready for academic success.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text: BH Hare's Ear Flashback RL Olive - Bead Head, Rubber Leg. Another Hare's Ear variation the Beadhead Olive Hare's Ear Flashback Rubber Leg is composed of all that makes a fly great, extra weight from the head, extra flash from the shiny thorax, and rubber legs just adding a further life like feature. This fly is frequently fished on a dead drift, casting up stream and with a slow retrieve if left to drift it is sure to pull out even the most cautious of trout. This fly is a favourite of the revered brown trout and is a must have on every fly fishermen's fly patch.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


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I enjoy sharing my 19 years experience as a professional West End Actress/Singer through creative and dynamic teaching. I teach all ages and abilities.
I teach Musical Theatre, Singing, Acting, Speech & Drama and Public Speaking.
I charge £35 per hour and £18 per half hour for private tutoring.
I teach from home in Rochester, Kent.
Please contact me for times and availability.
After graduating from LIPA, I made my West End debut in Mamma Mia! at The Prince Edward Theatre in 2000, understudying and playing the role of Sophie. I then went on to understudy and play the role of Eponine in Les Miserables at The Palace Theatre. After completing a PG Dip in Voice at the prestigious Trinity College of Music, I went on to play the role of Fantine in Les Miserables at The Queen's Theatre for two years and appeared at the O2 for the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert. I then moved on to a two year run playing Mrs Pratchett in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London's West End. I will be finishing a 14 month UK tour of Mamma Mia! in March, having played all three Dynamos and will be Kent based for teaching. I learn so much from my pupils and have always tutored along side my professional acting work and continue to do so.
Learning isn't a problem, classical singing lessons for all!
Taking jazz singing lessons has never been easier: you're going to learn new skills.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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We're counting down the days to the start of ball hockey season. The first event will be a skills and drills exercise where kids are assessed. That information will be used to help create balanced teams. League games will begin the following weekend at Gorsebrook rink.
We booked the gym at Needham Community Centre, (3372 Devonshire Ave) for seeding. However, if the weather forecast calls for blue skies and warm temperatures, we may run the seeding exercises at Gorsebrook Arena instead. We'll post our decision on the location several days ahead of time. Stay tuned. To learn more about seeding, click here.
Teams will be posted on the website a couple of days after seeding.
We're looking for a couple more referees. If your son or daughter is interested send and email to admin@nsmbha.com.
Here are the big changes. As always, there may be last minute tweeks so check in regularly.
1. Primary Division: A new division for boys and girls in Grades 2 and 3.
3. Season starts earlier - last weekend of April. We'll run the player-seeding skills session at an indoor facility - likely the Needham Community Centre - on Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. All remaining games will be played at the Gorsebrook rink, which the city only opens the first weekend of May.
Last year we had such a fabulous time so we're really just hoping to build on that. All teams will get T-shirts. As usual, we'll be relying on volunteer coaches, assistants and managers. We'll hold a coaching clinic. More on that later.
1 p.m. Junior: Grade 7 to Grade 9.
There will be a few Sunday games. We're trying to get a morning block of time but more than likely will end up with afternoon times. Stay tuned.
Thanks to Tracy for pics of the final games of Coach Dave's Learn-to-play team.

industry_corpus2: Sports


text: FURNHAM, A; (1987) THE STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIC BELIEFS. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES , 8 (2) pp. 253-260. 10.1016/0191-8869(87)90181-4.


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Learn more about our products and their applications and ask any questions directly to our engineers. Each month we take you through one product in our range, demonstrating common applications and best features.
Missed a webinar? Take a look in the webinar archive.
If you've already purchased our product and would training specific to your application, you can!
Do I need to download any software to attend?
Is it a live or recorded webinar?
What if suddenly I can't attend?
What happens after I book product training?
What do I need for my training session?
Can I do training via Skype?

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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Southern Canada south through all of the United States, Central America, and most of South America. Also present in Australia, Hawaii, and other Pacific Islands.
First proposed by a 5th grade class at the Cornwall Elementary School, the Vermont General Assembly declared the Monarch as the official state butterfly on July 1, 1987.
Adults make massive fall migrations, flying thousands of miles south to winter in central Mexico. A few overwinter along the Gulf coast or south Atlantic coast. Along the way, Monarchs stop to feed on flower nectar and to roost together at night. Some of these roosts have been observed in the Champlain Valley. At the Mexico wintering sites, butterflies roost in trees and form huge aggregations that may have millions of individuals. Most have mated before they leave for the north in the spring, and females lay eggs along the way.
Upperside of male is bright orange with wide black borders and black veins; hindwing has a patch of scent scales. Upperside of female is orange-brown with wide black borders and blurred black veins. Both sexes have white spots on borders and apex. The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is a Mullerian mimic; it has similar coloration and is also distasteful.
Arriving as early as mid May in some years, Monarchs probably have two generations during the summer before migrating southward in September and October. Extreme dates: 17 May 2003 in Weybridge (D. Peterson) and 1 November 2006 in Chester (M. Reiter).
Monarchs are found throughout the state of Vermont. They prefer open meadows, weedy areas, marshes, roadsides and disturbed habitats with milkweed. Caterpillars feed on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa). Blooming later summer/early fall clover fields have been found to be important stopover habitat in the Champlain and Connecticut valleys during VBS.


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Sailing - 07. November 2007.
Many of sailing's star names together with members of royalty were in Estoril to celebrate the achievements of the six inductees at a gala Dinner and Presentation, one of the centrepiece occasions of ISAF's Centenary celebrations. Over the past 100 years, sailing has seen many heroes and legends, and the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame has been created to recognize the achievements of those who have made the sport what it is today.
His Majesty King Constantine, ISAF President of Honour and Honorary Chairman of the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame, said: "The six inductees are all legends of the sailing world and are heroes to thousands of sailors around the world. They represent the very highest level of achievement across various aspects of sailing.
"One hundred years of sailing has created many worthy sailors, but tonight we are here to recognise a few that have made sailing their life. Their achievement has contributed to enhancing, promoting and evolving the sport of sailing, but overall they have amazed, influenced and inspired both on and off the water."
The inductees were presented with the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame trophy, - designed by renowned Portuguese artist, Cristina Leiria - by His Majesty King Constantine and ISAF President Göran Petersson. One of the sailing world's best loved commentators, PJ Montgomery, presided over the Awards ceremony.
Paul Elvström, Robin Knox-Johnson, Ellen MacArthur and Olin Stephens were in Estoril to receive their awards, whilst Jacqueline Tabarly, widow of the late Éric Tabarly, accepted his award. Barbara Kendall accepted her award from PJ Montgomery on film.
ISAF President Göran Petersson paid tribute to the ISAF Centenary and to the array of stars, sailing celebrities and members of Royalty who had gathered for the launch on the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame. "I'd like to thank you for being here, and I'd like to extend this thanks to everyone - our friends and fellow sailors - tonight is a wonderful celebration to share with you all. 2007 has certainly been a year to remember," he said.
The Awards nights was held at the spectacular Estoril Casino and generously sponsored by Portugal Tourism, Estoril Tourism and Cascais Municipality.
The ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame has been launched in ISAF's Centenary year to celebrate sailing achievement, greatness and contribution to the sailing world.
Nominations for inductees were submitted by ISAF members, with the final decision confirmed by the ISAF Executive Committee. The Honorary Chairman for the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame is His Majesty King Constantine, who is also an ISAF President of Honour.


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BBC Radio 1Xtra - Seani B, Xyclone & Lanz live plus Soosee Cue!
Xyclone & Lanz live plus Soosee Cue!
US Dancehall DeeJay Xyclone is live in the studio! Plus emerging talent Lanz is on the phone and Soosee Cue takes the reins on the Art of Juggling guest mix.
Remix Artist: Grant Phabao Remix.
Remix Artist: Smokey Bandits Remix.


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Ultra Music Festival’s housewarming party is well underway in its impressive new home, Virginia Key, Miami. Friday saw the likes of Nicky Romero, Alesso and Marshmello crank up proceedings on the mainstage, setting expectations remarkably high for Saturday’s performers. With the ANIMA show in his armoury, 22-year-old Martin Garrix was poised to take on the Saturday headliner slot.
It wouldn’t have been a true Martin Garrix Ultra Miami performance without a few hard-hitting IDs. The Dutchman flaunted a handful of unknown tracks, stirring up excitement around what is to come from him and his record label in the near future. It has been hinted that one could potentially be a collaboration alongside fellow producer, Dyro (according to 1001tracklists).
Having raised the energy throughout with some pulsating electro house, he looked to provide an unforgettable conclusion to what had already been a magnificent set. Closing with some of his more progressive anthems, Garrix blasted his most recent fan-favourites “No Sleep” and “High On Life” to tickle the vocal chords of a vibrant Miami crowd.
Once again, the show did not disappoint, demonstrating why he should be the only one to play one of the most prestigious festival slots in dance music. The Martin Garrix magic didn’t end there, announcing the immediate release of “Mistaken” on STMPD RCRDS shortly after departing the mainstage. Check out “Mistaken” and Martin’s full Ultra performance below, you can find the full tracklist here.
Make sure to keep your eyes on We Rave You for more Ultra Music Festival goodness!


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Another delightful and thrilling game with an ancient Egyptian theme, Legacy of Egypt invites you to explore the wonders and treasures of the mysterious and powerful Egyptian gods. With 5 reels and 30 paylines, this video slot from Play’n GO delivers excitement in the form of special perks like Wilds, Free Spins, Multipliers and the chance to re-trigger Free Spins. Significant winning opportunities await you if you manage to activate the Wheel of the Gods.
On the reels of this colourful game you will find the typical low-value playing card symbols A, K, Q, J as well as many classic ancient Egyptian symbols, including gods like Isis, Anubis, and Horus, among others. The gods represent the high-value symbols. There is also the scarab (the Wild symbol) and the Pyramid (the Scatter symbol).
As is standard with most slot games, the wild will substitute for all other symbols bar the scatter. The wild’s ability to substitute for other symbols, dramatically boosts your chances of scoring a winning combination.
That being said, it is the Wheel of the Gods Free Spins feature where you can really win some nice payouts. To trigger this feature, you will need to land a minimum of 3 scatters anywhere on the reels. The wheel will come into play and spin, determining how many free spins you will get. Initially, you can win as few as 3 spins and as many as 20. At the start of each free spin, a multiplier will be randomly awarded to the spin. Possible multipliers include: 2x, 3x, 5x, 8x, or 10x.
As an extra bonus, if you manage to land two Wild Scatter symbols during the Free Spins round, this will award Pyramid Spins. These are free spins within the free spins round. Better still, these additional spins will retain the multiplier from the triggering spin. The Wheel of the Gods will determine the number of Pyramid Spins you are awarded. You can be awarded as few as 3 or as many as 8.
Plus, 3 Wild Scatter symbols that result during a free spin will also award Pyramid Spins and will double the value on the Wheel of the Gods. What’s more, Pyramid Spins can be activated from within Pyramid Spins.
There are so many possible ways to boost your chances of winning playing this fantastic game!

industry_corpus2: Gaming


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With the rise of data security leakages, most professional organizations are seeking to significantly upscale their cybersecurity to better protect their organization from information security risks. I see an increasing use of online assessments helping information security and thought I’d provide some pointers about this.
A cornerstone of good practice in security is training in security awareness. For example, the widely respected NIST 800-53 publication recommends that organizations provide general-purpose and role-based training to personnel as part of initial training and periodically thereafter. If you follow NIST standards, NIST control AT-4 also requires that all security training be documented and records retained.
There is widespread evidence that delivering an assessment is the best way of documenting that training took place, because it doesn’t just document attendance but also understanding of the training. For more explanation, see the Questionmark blog post Proving compliance – not just attendance. The only point of security awareness training is to have the training be understood, so testing to confirm understanding is widespread and sensible.
At Questionmark, we practice what we preach! All our employees have to take a test on data security when they join to check they understand our policies; all employees must also take and pass an updated test each year to ensure they continue to understand.
The international security standard ISO 27001:2013 requires that an organization determine the necessary competence of personnel affecting information security performance. The organization must also ensures that personnel have such competence and retain evidence of this.
In a large organization with many different security roles, developing and using competence tests for each information security-related role is a good way of measuring and showing competence. Knowing who is competent in which aspect of security and data protection matters: it ensures that you are covering appropriate risks with appropriate people. Online testing is an effective way of measuring competence and makes it easy to update competence records by giving periodic tests every six months or annually.
The PCI guide recognizes that good metrics include “feedback from personnel; quizzes and training assessments”. In my experience, as well as using quizzes and tests to measure knowledge, it also makes sense to use online surveys to assess actual practice by employees and to allow reporting of security concerns.
Testing on information security and data protection is an increasing use case for Questionmark’s trustable SaaS assessment management system, Questionmark OnDemand. Whichever security standard you are following (ISO 27001, NIST, PCI or one of several others), creating online assessments tailored to measure knowledge of your organization’s policies and procedures using an assessment management system like Questionmark’s can make a useful difference.
There’s a lot in the news recently about possible cybersecurity attacks on the political process. Here are some thoughts on how we can learn from this and apply it to assessment security.
One of the most interesting documents I’ve read on this subject is the Department of Homeland Security and FBI’s joint analysis report JAR-16-20296 titled GRIZZLY STEPPE – Russian Malicious Cyber Activity. This presents evidence on how a cybersecurity attack was made on a US political party in 2016 and gives some practical advice on how others can set up their systems to avoid such attacks.
I’ve shared various sets of security questions in this blog, including Eight ways to check if security is more than skin deep and 24 midsummer questions to ask your assessment software provider, but here are some questions from a very credible source!
I’d encourage you to pose these questions within your organization and with your suppliers to check that you are well protected in case of a cyberattack. Questionmark, like all sensible organizations, believes in continuous improvement in our security, and listening to sources like this analysis informs our improvement.
I hope highlighting the report and these questions helps strengthen your defenses against cybersecurity and acts as a guide in choosing your vendors.

industry_corpus2: Information Services


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I’m a firm believer in insurance. While I don’t believe that everyone needs life insurance, I strongly hold that everyone should have critical illness insurance and personal insurance. What’s sad is that those who need personal insurance the most are those who tend to shy away from it because they don’t realize the importance of insurance, think that it’s too expensive or, worse, don’t know that such an animal exists. That’s why things like microinsurance really excites me because it provides a viable solution to a real problem.
I first wrote about microinsurance almost a year ago and I’m happy to report that I discovered another microinsurance company that also aims to service the marginalized and underserved sector by providing low-cost insurance coverage. Everyone, meet Bima.
I must be doing something right then because my stock portfolio is the most boring thing on the planet right now. And that’s because I haven’t touched my portfolio in more than a year. Sadly, my stock investing has been downgraded in my financial priorities. Debt payment has taken the first spot and insurance premiums and the office cooperative have become my primary investments. But don’t you worry my dear stock portfolio, you’ll have my undivided attention soon enough.
Alright, enough chatter, here’s the chairman!
I received some questions regarding the Registered Financial Planner (RFP) Program that I took up a few years back. In order to address the frequently asked questions, I am posting in full my correspondence with a reader who was thinking of taking up the program too. I hope this helps out others who are also considering the RFP Program!
Kasagana Ka Development Center, Inc.
Today I’m turning over the spotlight to Kasagana Ka Development Center, a social development nongovernment organization that services urban poor communities.
I first learned about Kasagana Ka last March when I was invited to give a talk on personal finance for the Women’s Month program of a government agency, and the other speaker, Ms. Evangeline Pe, was from Kasagana Ka. I remember thinking that she was God-sent because I had been looking for a personal finance speaker for my then-office’s own Women’s Month event in Taguig and I knew that if I didn’t find a speaker, I would have to do it myself (Gulp!).
But my prayers were answered because there was Ms. Eva right in front of me, brimming with down-to-earth wisdom on personal finance and anecdotes on her experiences with working with the urban poor. And she said yes to my proposal/begging because she said that Kasagana Ka had really been looking into infiltrating the Taguig market. It was a win-win situation! Woohoo!
If you are a long-time reader of my blog, then you already know how much premium I place on financial education. So much so that I shelled out good money to take a certification course even if it had no direct correlation to my present career (It’s the learning, stupid!). But I had fun and it fed my personal finance geek side, so I therefore conclude that it was money well spent.
However, if you are similarly interested in expanding your knowledge on personal finance, investments, entrepreneurship and all things money related, there’s no need to spend a pretty penny because there are other ways to get your geek on, such as attending one day seminars like Randell Tiongson’s ICON 2016.

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


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This ceramic vase is the perfect way to accessorise a modern home. The design is complete with a floral embossed finish.
Wipe Clean With A Soft Cloth .

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


text: On MDsave, the cost of a Venous Doppler Study Unilateral in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is $193. Those on high deductible health plans or without insurance can shop, compare prices and save. Read more about how it works.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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We know that every detail in plant engineering can assume the role of creating central added value and competitiveness. Completely reliable and highly intelligent sensors are without doubt a competitive advantage. This is where we serve as expert advisers and professional contacts.
Smooth production thanks to CAPTRON.
Sensor technology from CAPTRON adapts. New materials, technologies and cross-overs. New product properties entail new production challenges, and this is also true for sensor technology. We check, we tinker and we develop solutions. New products and specifications. Solutions that are tailored precisely to your systems, products and specifications. Whether it be retrofitting production systems or new configuration options - we develop the perfect solution.

industry_corpus2: Petrochemicals


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Don't understand a word but i can't describe how much i've grown to loooove these gorgeous talented women. This set list is perfect!
You're the best; thanks for this!
+시로이 걸린 게 아니고 원래 끝까지 갔다가 다시 보면 광고 없어져요!!!
[Full Album] 마마무(MAMAMOO) - BLUE;S (8th Mini Album)K-BERSERK.


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There is something fun to write about and tell. It's the beginning of something new for me. When I went to the TNQ Wild Writers Festival a few months back, I was taken by what writer Miranda Hill had to say on the topic of mothering and writing. In short, she said go for it. She talked about how there came a moment when her children were getting older and she thought either I do it now or the time will pass. And she did and out of that decision came a wonderful collection of stories entitled, Sleeping Funny, which I'm reading and loving now.
Coming from that day, feeling inspired and ready to go for it, I didn't. We got a puppy instead. But now that puppy is beginning to settle (a little despite being spayed last week) and I decided I needed to go for it in way of asking for help. I didn't want to do this alone anymore and by this I mean writing story after story, only to leave it without much editing and go on to the next idea. I wanted to feel like a writer and get something done.
I thought back to the last time I could really say I felt like a writer and it was before I had the kids, when we still lived in Toronto. I was teaching 6/7 and taking a short story writing class at George Brown taught by amazing author Elizabeth Ruth. Those months I was up by six at the latest each morning and writing until the last minute when I had to run off to teach. They were good times. From it, a writing group was born and continued for years until we moved back to Waterloo. So I went to her, before Christmas, and asked if she would be willing to start again with me and my writing, in the form of a mentorship and she said yes! It began this month in a quiet way of sending her some of my pages followed up with a phone call at the end of each month. We can change things as we go, we have agreed, if need be.
I didn't know if I wanted to blog about this news, feeling the need to protect this new endeavor as well as the stories and words I'm getting out there. I'm finding timing tricky, hard to write at home with the dog (she has peanut butter now), I've been sneaking away in the morning to a nearby coffee shop to write after I take the kids to school to escape the pup. But I do miss my cozy office. I've also agreed to more volunteering at the school which I love, but it eats up time. My work at the library is mostly only one afternoon and two evenings, so I couldn't ask for a better schedule there. The house is messy and not much extra is being baked or made, no sugar valentine cookies this year. But I think this is the decision I'm making, and everyone under my roof (ok, maybe not the dog) is all for it, amazingly and wonderfully so.
There are still things to decide. Do I write new things or rework old stories I've loved and put away? But I do know that a morning here and there is not enough and writing at coffee shops isn't free. I'll work it out, February is a rough month for resolutions, but what I've worked and made happen so far and what could come out of this, will be very worth it, possibly like nothing else.
Wonderful news, Sarah! I'm so glad you decided to make a move and reconnect with a mentor. Wishing you both inspiration and time!
This is exciting news. Congratulations on taking a big step!
Sunday Morning or How long will it Last?

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


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What is your true worth?
Jesus, what are you like? How can we be like you?
Easter Sunday : He has risen!

industry_corpus2: Others


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According to this article the theory that Nefertiti’s tomb may lie hidden behind a wall in the tomb of Tutankhamen may be a false hope, kept alive by the Egyptian authorities for political reasons.
What a sensible thing for scientist to say! And before the official report which throws doubt on the hidden tomb theory has even been published. But how could such a tempting, (and apparently easily refuted) theory get accepted in the first place?
The initial optimism about finding hidden chambers in the tomb was fuelled by a radar scan performed by a veteran Japanese specialist, Hirokatsu Watanabe. Those findings are under scrutiny, particularly as Watanabe has refused to share the raw data upon which he based his conclusions.
Well, he may be unwilling to share data, but he has results that are politically and financially very attractive to some. I wonder where he might find alternative employment with such an attitude and such an aptitude should the pyramid scheme fall through? I guess in smoke-filled rooms in Cairo (and I think they may still have them there, lucky things), or maybe in some mountain resort in the Lebanon, folks are meeting to get a new IPCC underway. That could make Mr Watanabe’s career really take off. The Interesting Pyramids Compulsion Committee? But how to factor in attack opportunities on the capitalist societies and customs of Europe and North America? That may be crucial. And fear. Oh, also The Guardian and suchlike must want to big it up.
Well, wait, here it is: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/jul/23/mummy-curse-legend-discovering-tutankhamun-ashmolean-museum .
The Pharoah’s Curse on you all, you lords and ladies and sundry followers, you colonialists and worse. Gotta be able to make use of that. Hang on in there, Hirokatsu!
Is Watanabe a wannabe climate scientist? UEA would be a good fit.
GISS may consider employing him to design and monitor their new generation of digital thermometers such that they are ‘customised to such a degree that the data is unreadable to others’ but, of course, it can be trusted 100%. RSS are said to be very interested too.
The amount of reports that I now have to take with a pinch of salt, is leading to raised blood pressure.
This “finding” of hidden chambers by non-replicable methods has a close analogy with the Nazi gold train in Poland that hit the news last year. The difference is that the authorities in Poland had no interest in keeping the myth alive. If the treasure was there, there would be huge credit to Poland for revealing it.
Another myth that is kept alive – though very tongue in cheek by most of the locals – is the Loch Ness Monster. In Drumnadrochit on the North shore are two competing exhibitions.
Nessieland (.co.uk) gives lots of fun stuff for the children and gives lots of indicators that the truth about the lurking family of dinosuars will one day be revealed. They are very prickly about the other lot two hundred yards up the road, on the fringes of the village.
The Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition takes the wider perspective. Looks at the wider perspective in terms of geological history and the results of a thorough radar scanning of the whole of Loch Ness a few years ago. The later showed up few fish and a smooth-sided “U-shaped” bottom to the Loch. The food-chain could not support the creatures.
Whatever you believe, the area is a great place to visit.