Europe ETF News up to 1 year Ago
ESMA consults on the potential impact of shortening the standard settlement cycle
October 5, 2023--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, today launches a Call for Evidence (CfE) on the shortening of the settlement cycle. Stakeholders are invited to provide their input by 15 December 2023.
The Call for Evidence will help ESMA to assess the costs and benefits of a possible reduction of the settlement cycle in the European Union (EU); and identify whether any regulatory action is needed to smoothen the impact for EU market participants of the planned shortening of the settlement cycle to T+1 in other jurisdictions, such as the US. ESMA seeks input, including quantitative evidence, from all stakeholders involved in financial markets, and not only those in financial market infrastructures.
ESMA publishes second consultation on crypto market rules
October 5, 2023--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, today publishes a second consultation package under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Stakeholders are encouraged to provide their feedback to this consultation by 14 December 2023.
In the documents published today, ESMA is seeking input on five sets of proposed rules, covering:
sustainability indicators for distributed ledgers;
disclosures of inside information;
technical requirements for white papers;
trade transparency measures; and
record-keeping and business continuity requirements for crypto-asset service providers.
Households and non-financial corporations in the euro area: second quarter of 2023
October 5, 2023--Households' financial investment increased at lower annual rate of 2.1% in second quarter of 2023, after 2.4% in previous quarter
Non-financial corporations' financing grew at lower annual rate of 0.9%, after 1.4%
Non-financial corporations' gross operating surplus increased at lower annual rate of 5.3%, after 9.4%
Euro area quarterly balance of payments and international investment position:
second quarter of 2023
October 5, 2023--Current account surplus at €34 billion (0.2% of euro area GDP) in four quarters to second quarter of 2023, after a €129 billion surplus (1.0% of GDP) a year earlier
Geographical counterparts: largest surpluses vis-à-vis United Kingdom (€156 billion) and Switzerland (€74 billion) and largest bilateral current account deficits vis-à-vis China (€156 billion) and the United States (€27 billion)
International investment position showed net assets of €265 billion (1.9% of euro area GDP) at the end of second quarter of 2023
Current account
The current account of the euro area recorded a surplus of €34 billion (0.2% of euro area GDP) in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2023, after recording a surplus of €129 billion (1.0% of GDP) a year earlier. This decline was mainly driven by a fall in the primary income surplus from €76 billion to €7 billion and by reductions in the surpluses for goods (down from €74 billion to €56 billion) and services (down from €142 billion to €128 billion).
New fixed income ETFs from BNP Paribas Easy on Xetra: access to sustainable investment grade corporate bonds denominated in euros and US dollars
October 4, 2023--Four new exchange-traded funds issued by BNP Paribas Easy have been tradable on Xetra and via Börse Frankfurt.
The BNP Paribas Easy EUR Corp Bond SRI Fossil Free Ultrashort Duration UCITS ETF offers investors the opportunity to invest in a portfolio of euro-denominated corporate bonds with a short remaining maturity.
Only fixed-rate bonds with a residual maturity of one month to a maximum of 18 months and floating-rate bonds with a residual maturity of one month to 3 years are taken into account.
All bonds must have an investment grade rating and an outstanding volume of €500 billion at the time of intake. The trading currency is Euro.
The BNP Paribas Easy USD Corp Bond SRI Fossil Free UCITS ETF provides investors with access to investment-grade fixed-income corporate bonds denominated in US dollars.
21.co Appoints Senior ETF Leader as Head of Financial Product Development
October 3, 2023--Mandy Chiu, CFA, brings deep experience developing innovative investment solutions for international markets
21.co, the world's largest issuer of crypto ETPs, today announced the appointment of Mandy Chiu, CFA, the company's Head of Financial Product Development.
As interest increases in the digital asset investment space, Chiu's addition to 21.co comes at a time of significant growth and key talent acquisition for the company.
In this role, Chiu will oversee the company's global product expansion of 21Shares. Working closely with industry partners, she'll seek to bridge the gap between TradFi and DeFi -a key initiative in supporting the company's mission and growth.
Nasdaq Launches Custom Basket Forwards
October 3, 2023--Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the launch of Nasdaq Custom Basket Forwards. The Custom Basket Forwards solution meets the increasing market demand for a simpler and more efficient way of handling equity exposures by utilizing standardized contracts on the regulated market.
Custom Basket Forwards enable investors to create a Forward contract on a customized equity basket that is defined by return type, currency, and selected from a European universe of equities, totaling around 1,700+ stocks from 15 countries.
The customized equity basket is calculated in accordance with a standardized calculation methodology where corporate actions are monitored and adjusted for, in line with conventional standards. The customized equity basket is in scope of the European Benchmark Regulation, BMR, and is governed by Nasdaq registered Benchmark Administrator.
Lloyds Bank and BlackRock partner to offer retail access to select ETFs-
ETF Quicklist
October 3, 2023--Lloyds Bank has partnered with BlackRock to create a shortlist of iShares ETFs for its customers, offering easy access to a small range of funds.
Clients will be able to access the ETFs with no trading fees if they set up a regular investment plan, which can be opened from just £20 per month.
The ETF Quicklist includes 16 ETFs to help investors create the basic building blocks of an investment portfolio, spanning a range of regional equity exposures, bonds and thematics. The shortlist can be accessed via a share dealing account or an ISA. Investing in the ETFs without a regular investment plan will carry a £20 semi-annual admin fee, alongside an £11 dealing fee. BlackRock expands range of iBonds ETFs in UK Manuel Parda...
ESMA finds increase in use of ESG-related language in the EU fund industry
October 2, 2023--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets and securities regulator, today publishes an article exploring the use of language related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in EU investment fund names and documentation.
Tackling greenwashing is one of the key priorities in ESMA's Strategy on Sustainable Finance, and in this respect its assessment of how investment funds signal themselves (via their name or via their documents) is an important first step in the detection and monitoring of potential greenwashing.
In this study, ESMA shows that the share of EU UCITS investment funds with ESG words in their name has increased from less than 3% in 2013 to 14% in 2023.
IMF Working Paper-Financial Conditions in Europe: Dynamics, Drivers, and Macroeconomic Implications
September 29, 2023--Summary:
We develop a new measure of financial conditions (FCs) that targets the growth of financial liabilities using the partial least square methodology. We then estimate financial condition indexes (FCIs) across European economies, both at the aggregate and sectoral levels.
We decompose the changes in FCs into several factors including credit availability and costs, price of risk, policy stance, and funding constraints. Our results show that FCs loosened during the pandemic thanks to policy support but started to tighten significantly since mid-2021.
Using the inverse probability weighting method over the sample period from 2000 to 2023, we find that a shift from a neutral to a tight FCI regime such as the ongoing episode for most European countries will on average lower output and inflation by 2.2 percent and 0.7 percentage points respectively and increase unemployment by 0.3 percentage points over a three-year horizon.
