Accounting roundup: Discount rates on the rise
Also: DB, DC plan definitions under IAS 19; IASB staff still working on DC discount rate anomaly
German Pensionskassen, BaFin in ‘uncharted territory’ over solvency
Three Pensionskassen in talks with German regulator over 2017 losses, more might follow
Evangelische Bank expands business with ESG launch
Provider launches asset management subsidiary to grow customer base outside of German churches
Germany unlikely to see new DC plans before 2020
Talks between employees and employers in Germany’s metal industry are ongoing but without commitment
Mandate roundup: UK pension pool confirms £1bn smart beta allocation
Plus: Family office hunts securitised credit investor; Danish foundation wants EM manager; German state appoints Hermes EOS
State pension liabilities pose biggest threat to Germany’s credit rating
German economist proposes €1trn sovereign wealth fund to cope with future first-pillar funding
Chart of the Week: Angela Merkel begins a long ‘auf wiedersehen’
German equity investors have enjoyed the 13 years since the chancellor first took power
German investors under pressure to achieve returns, survey shows
Fewer investors now rank security as top concern, according to poll by Union Investment
aba fears ‘disastrous’ impact of German IORP II bill
Government’s proposal does not capture the minimum harmonisation ‘spirit’ of IORP II, says pension fund trade body
BVV doubles Pensionsfonds assets with SEB addition
Swedish bank outsources German defined benefit scheme in organisational overhaul
German churches back development bank’s $200m SME lending fund
Evangelische Bank co-invests alongside DEG in emerging market banks offering SME funding
PenSam to step up scrutiny of partners as €55bn tax scandal unfolds
Media probe reveals DKK13bn dividend tax hole in Denmark
Melbourne Mercer: Netherlands beats Denmark as world’s top system
Finland takes third spot; Spain debuts with a C grade for its system
Pension funds fear ‘Trojan horse’ in EU sustainability measures
Conference panellists wary of Commission’s sustainability agenda bringing additional regulation and costs
Asset management roundup: DWS partners with Tikehau for alts ‘alliance’
Plus: eVestment secures undisclosed consultant and fee data for new service; UBP enters impact investing space
Amended longevity tables may save providers up to 50bp in buffers
Slower increase in longevity after Heubeck fixes flaw
German first pillar reform ‘could prove difficult for ESG investors’
Rating agency Scope warns of increased intergenerational burden
Longevity data was flawed, admits German consultancy
Revision expected later this month expected to lower longevity increase and with it buffer requirements
ESG roundup: Japan’s giant pension selects S&P for ESG indices
Also: BlackRock and Thomson Reuters launch inclusion and diversity index; German association publishes ESG glossary
Germany proposes relief for providers over €60bn enforced reserves
Amendments to Zinszusatzreserve calculations for insurers, Pensionskassen and Pensionsfonds
Germany: A pensions transition
Insurance companies have to re-define their role in a world in which guarantees are too expensive. But in German pensions they have to keep promises given in the past
BRSG: Scramble for German DC
A new occupational pension framework without guarantees has stirred up an already complex industry and most of its stakeholders are still playing their cards close to their chest
Headwinds and tailwinds
Germany’s latest pension reform comes at a time when Brussels and EIOPA are presenting unwelcome challenges
ESG moves unsettle
The European Commission’s plan to increase sustainable investment is a mixed bag
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Brussels People – Lieve Wierinck: Building on Europe’s scientific base
Lieve Wierinck’s main political passion is ensuring the EU takes full practical advantage of Europe’s excellent scientific base
Brussels People: Sven Giegold, MEP
While he derives some satisfaction from advances in green energy and the like, Sven Giegold is unhappy that most global investment can still be classed as environmentally unsustainable.
Letter from Brussels: Brussels seeks to bolster secondary market in non-performing loans
Are non-peforming loans an investor’s dream come true? Or do they represent immeasurable risks?
Letter from Brussels: Focus on pension products and supervision ahead of elections
Tensions are rising in Brussels as the EU institutional mandate approaches its end ahead of the Parliamentary elections in May 2019, and the Commission has already ceased issuing new proposals in the absence of legislative time.
Letter From Brussels: CMU urgency mounts
The race is on to complete the EU’s flagship Capital Markets Union project before the mandates of the Commission and Parliament elapse next year
Letter from Brussels: Campaign to boost pan-EU distribution of UCITS and AIFs
Another step by Brussels to ease financing to business across the EU comes with measures to facilitate the cross-border distribution of investment funds
Letter from Brussels: Who cares about our €3.5trn?
PensionsEurope is concerned about a Brexit ‘no deal’ and is calling for negotiators to pay heed to the €3.54trn sector’s interests
Letter From Brussels: Corporate tax reform in view
Radical upgrades to the EU’s corporate tax base norms have never been so close to fruition
Letter From Brussels: Default guarantee option dominates debate on PEPP
Europe’s asset management industry is lobbying against any mandatory guaranteed default option in the third-pillar PEPP proposal
Letter From Brussels: Brexit focus moves to pensions
As the risk of a no-deal Brexit comes into focus, attention is turning to ways to mitigate the damage across financial services, including asset management and pensions
Letter from Brussels: Easier securitisation on the horizon
The EU’s securitisation package has finally passed through the European Parliament and Council. However, the new rules will not be applied until January 2019
Letter from Brussels: Opposition to mission creep
The EU’s controversial mandate for a radical shake up of financial supervision has received a cool reception from the pensions sector as well as smaller EU members
Letter From Brussels: Court for international investor disputes on the horizon
International investors in the EU have for decades been suffering from woeful dispute settlement proceedings when involved in cases against public authorities
Letter From Brussels: Pension rights for posted workers
Discussions over the payment of social costs for workers from central and eastern European countries posted temporarily to wealthier EU countries are playing a major role in the attempt to update existing directives
Letter from Brussels: Tax threatens PEPP proposal
At first sight, the benefits of the European Commission’s Pan European Personal Pension (PEPP) regulation proposal seem clear. But it did not take long for commentators to point out the considerable hurdles
Letter from Brussels: Reboot for Capital Markets Union
The European Commission’s “further steps to drive forward the Capital Markets Union (CMU)” outline nine new priority legislative actions to solve the EU’s long-term cross-border investment challenge
Letter from Brussels: EU seeks to avert Brexit arbitrage
Strong words on Brexit are flying in political circles. But behind the theatre, concerns about the future of London’s fund management sector are emerging
Letter from Brussels: A warm reception for PEPP
In contrast to complaints that Brussels’s legislation burdens the financial sector, the European Commission may be gratified by the positive response to its flagship Capital Markets Union (CMU) programme.
Letter from Brussels: Brexit and equivalence
Nothing could be clearer. For the financial sector, at least, there is nothing to fear from Brexit. All the UK has to do is to apply to the EU’s rules – the crucial term ‘equivalence’
Letter from Brussels: Resaver’s first stage kicks off
The European Commission’s project to set up a pension scheme for research and development professionals whose careers take them across EU borders has finally reached its first stages of operation.