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UNLOCKING CRYPTO-ASSETS POTENTIAL A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND VALUE PROPOSITIONS 0

Crypto Asset

White Paper

UNLOCKING CRYPTO-ASSETS POTENTIAL: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND VALUE PROPOSITIONS

We are in a digital revolution era. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and crypto-assets will lead to a significant financial eco-system modernization.

AML

Briefing Note

AML package

Fresh from the presses! A tidal wave is looming on the horizon of the AML landscape: the first European Regulation on AML/CFT, an independent and autonomous authority specific to AML... 2024 will be a landmark for financial crime regulation!The GRC Team is proud to present an in-depth look at the AML Package set to be adopted by the end of the year.

Briefing Note

Six Design Principles for Bank Risk and Control Operating Model Transformations in 2024

This briefing note functions as a starting point for banks’ senior management to identify key priorities and design decisions for risk and control target operating model (TOM) transformations in 2024. It has been developed by identifying the key supervisory priorities of the UK and EU regulators, analysing strategic risk management trends in the industry, and leveraging Avantage Reply’s insights from developing target operating models for a range of risk and control functions at some of the most significant financial institutions across Europe.

08.02.2024

News & Communication

Regulatory Outlook 2024

2024 is set to be a pivotal year for the European regulatory landscape, with Belgium commencing its presidency of the Council of the European Union. The financial landscape in the country is poised for significant changes, with the legislative agenda taking precedence in its program. To kickstart the year, Avantage Reply is keen to highlight our perspective on the key issues slated for attention.

18.01.2024

Blog

The Market in Crypto-Assets Regulation: a Deep Dive

The first comprehensive European regulation pertaining to the crypto-market was approved in May 2023 and is known as the Market in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCaR). With the Fifth AML Directive, the Union had already regulated crypto-assets in the AML space, albeit under a different name: virtual currency.

07.12.2023

Blog

Risk and Compliance in the Digital Age - Assessing the Impact of the European AI Act

Many believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the "next big thing" in the digital era. Customers and businesses are increasingly using this technology to complete tasks that were previously limited to human operators and to solve problems.

21.11.2023 - 23.11.2023 / FRANKFURT

Event

Reply at FI-Forum 2023

Reply is represented at the FI Forum in Frankfurt. Meet Reply at their booth and learn all about the range of services for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. Also visit the presentation "Banking in the Cloud - Future IT Banking Architecture: Our Perspective and Use Cases" on 22 November 2023.

08.11.2023

Blog

The clock is ticking on the Basel IV implementation – Are you ready?

On 27 October 2021, the European Commission (EC) published its legislative package, implementing the finalisation of the Basel III reforms, widely recognised as Basel IV. The Capital Requirements Regulation 3 (CRR III) and the Capital Requirements Directive 6 (CRD VI) were put in place to signify a new era of banking and financial compliance.

08.11.2023

Blog

DORA: The clock is ticking!

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), entered into force on the 16th of January 2023 and will be applicable from the 17th of January 2025. Its main purpose is to enhance and strengthen the cybersecurity practices of entities across the EU financial sector and to harmonise key requirements and reporting obligations.

31.10.2023

Event

CLOUD IN FINANCIAL SERVICES - BREAKFAST MEETING SERIES (2/2)

Reply is hosting the final instalment of the two-part breakfast meeting series to present the results of the survey and delve into specific topics covered by the second Cloud in Financial Services Survey with senior financial services executives. 

Case Study

Risk Support

Avantage Reply provided support to the Risk department of a custodian bank that operates at an international level. The goal was to help with the completion of the department’s daily tasks and any upcoming projects

Case Study

Risk Management Support

The client began a project to switch to a new core banking system and aimed to complete this transition quickly with minimal impact on their daily processes and duties.

Case Study

Internal Audit of the Recovery Plan

The client, an independent and privately-owned banking group which provides private banking services, wanted an external expert to support their internal audit team. In particular, the client wanted to review and provide assurance that their Group Recovery Plan is in line with the latest regulatory requirements and best market practices.

Case Study

Standardized Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk

The client, a major banking group offering a broad range of financial products and services such as bilateral loans, trade financing and derivative products to corporate and institutional clients, required assistance with calculating the capital requirements for counterparty credit risk under the new standardized approach.

Case Study

Compliance Support

Avantage Reply supported the Compliance department of an internationally operating Private Bank / Financial Services Company in moving its European headquarters between countries. This involved PMO support, regulatory analysis and assessment of the Bank’s Compliance functions across several locations in the Eurozone, the UK and other European countries.

RISK MANAGEMENT

White Paper

THE EVOLVING PRUDENTIAL TREATMENT OF BANKS' CRYPTOASSET EXPOSURES

In December 2022, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published the standard on the prudential treatment of exposures to cryptoassets. Avantage Reply guides clients in the evolution of their risk management framework to stay ahead of market changes.

THE EVOLVING PRUDENTIAL TREATMENT OF BANKS' CRYPTOASSET EXPOSURES 0

White Paper

Climate and environmental risk integration within the prudential framework: Sustainable-FRTB

Climate change will continue for many decades to come, Banks should adequately incorporate climate-related and environmental risk within their governance and risk management frameworks in order to mitigate risks.

Briefing Note

Solvent Exit Planning for Non-Systemic Banks and Building Societies

The Consultation Paper outlines the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (”PRA”) proposals for non-systemic banks and building societies in the UK to prepare, as part of their business-as—usual activities, for an orderly ‘solvent exit’ and if needed, to be able to execute one.

07.08.2023

Blog

RAISING THE BAR: HM TREASURY’S CONSULTATION TO REFORM THE UK'S AML/CTF SUPERVISORY REGIME

On 30 June 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation on reform of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) supervisory. The consultation proposes four possible models and seeks respondents’ feedback on the potential benefits and drawbacks of each reform. Feedback and responses to the consultation must be submitted by 30 September 2023.

02.08.2023

Blog

European Court of Auditors' Findings on the ECB'S Supervision of Banks' Credit Risk: A balanced view

On May 12, the European Court of Auditors (“ECA”) published a special report on European Union (“EU”) supervision of banks’ credit risk. It concluded that the European Central Bank (“ECB”) has stepped up its efforts but more is needed to increase assurance that credit risk, in particular non-performing loans (“NPLs”), is properly managed and covered.

02.08.2023

Blog

Trading wind-down: expectations and considerations

In a move to improve the resilience of the UK financial sector, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued Supervisory Statement (SS) 1/22 in May 2022. This statement delineates the expectations for certain firms involved in trading activities that could pose significant adverse effects on the stability of UK’s financial sector.

Briefing Note

BCBS 239: A renewed ECB Priority

Since the release of the BCBS 239 Principles in 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB) has been urging European banks to comply with these Principles. These Principles cover three main topics: Overarching governance and structure, risk data aggregation capabilities, and risk reporting practices (often referred to by the ECB as 'RDAR').

Briefing Note

DORA - Overview of the Joint Consultation on the First Batch of DORA Policy Products

On 19th June 2023, The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) launched a public consultation on the first batch of policy products under the DORA. This pack provides an overview of the four draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) and one set of draft implementing technical standards (ITS) released.

27.06.2023

Blog

IMPLEMENTING THE CONSUMER DUTY FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT FIRMS

The Duty sets the standard of care that firms should provide to customers in retail financial markets. The FCA has introduced a new principle, Principle 12, known as the Consumer Principle. This principle requires firms to act in a way that delivers good outcomes for retail customers.

Case Study

Recovery Planning under ECB supervision

The client, an ECB-supervised bank, is required to maintain and update their Recovery Plan regularly. In this context, the client requested the assistance of Avantage Reply, to assist the bank in the production of its Group Recovery Plan.

Case Study

Enhancement of the Group’s ICAAP Framework

Avantage Reply undertook a project to assist an international banking group in enhancing its Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) framework in alignment with best banking practices.

Case Study

ICAAP/ILAAP Reports Update and Enhancement

Avantage Reply assisted a client with their objective to produce two regulatory reports namely the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (‘ICAAP’) and the Internal Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process (‘ILAAP’).

Case Study

Regulatory Reporting Support

In the context of transferring banking activities to another partner, the bank (the client) must comply with European banking authority (EBA) reporting requirements. The bank is required to produce regulatory reporting on a monthly and quarterly basis (i.e., COREP, FINREP etc.) Avantage Reply was engaged to provide support and expertise to generate regulatory reporting.

Case Study

ILAAP Internal Audit Support

Avantage Reply assisted the internal audit department of a leading private bank in the Eurozone, a less significant institution (LSI) that is part of an international group.

19.06.2023

News & Communication

BCBS 239: A renewed ECB Priority

Since the release of the BCBS 239 Principles in 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB) has been urging European banks to comply with these Principles. These Principles cover three main topics: Overarching governance and structure, risk data aggregation capabilities, and risk reporting practices (often referred to by the ECB as 'RDAR').

Briefing Note

SMCR Overview for 2023

The SM&CR was introduced in response to failures in senior management conduct and accountability evidenced in the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. The regulatory expectations under the regime are proportional to the degree of influence a stakeholder has on the firm’s decision-making. In particular, it is categorised under three key elements.

19.06.2023

Blog

The Future of Trading Books: Incorporating Climate Risk in Prudential Frameworks

On October 2022, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) released a report titled "Climate Risk Scenario Analysis for the Trading Book", which provides guidance for banks and financial institutions on how to assess climate risk in their trading books.

26.05.2023

Press Article

A European supervisory revolution? What the proposed SREP changes mean for your bank

If you have ever worked at a bank, you might have come across a process called Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). A “baby” of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the European debt crisis, this process is an essential element in ensuring that banks remain safe and reliable.

Briefing Note

Unique Product Identifier - UPI

The Unique Product Identifier (UPI) is necessary to improve transparency and reduce risk in the OTC derivatives market, but implementing it poses challenges for financial institutions, including data quality, system integration, cost, and industry coordination. High-quality data and system integration are crucial for effective implementation, and coordination is necessary for consistent global adoption.

25.05.2023

Event

BREAKFAST BRIEFING CONSUMER DUTY: THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

We believe that the journey towards ensuring good outcomes for customers has only just begun and will have far reaching impact on the way firms are built and run. Join us for the breakfast event, where you will have an opportunity to share ideas across various areas of the Consumer Duty, understand the challenges faced by firms and interact with industry leaders. To register for this event, please RSVP to .

28.04.2023

News & Communication

How the EBA plans to increase personal accountability for compliance failures

The year 2022 has brought a new wave of financial crime enforcement with Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) fines skyrocketing after a lull period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fines have risen over 50% globally compared to 2021 and show no sign of slowing down in 2023.

09.06.2023

Event

Cloud in Financial Services - Breakfast Meeting Series (1/2)

Reply is excited to launch a two-part breakfast meeting series to present the results of the survey and delve into specific topics covered by the survey with senior financial services executives. In collaboration with the European Banking Federation, Insurance Europe, and Profs. Markus Perkmann (Imperial College London) and Nelson Phillips (University of California, Santa Barbara), is currently conducting its second annual survey on Cloud in Financial Services.

Case Study

Support to Risk Management: Risk monitoring tool migration

The client is a large multinational asset management company. The customer needed assistance on the migration of its risk monitoring tool (from RiskMetrics to Aladdin Risk). Avantage Reply supported the client on the risk monitoring tool migration as Project Manager, leveraging on industry knowledge and internal know-how.

Briefing Note

Last amendment on SFTR

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released an update to Validation Rules and XML Schemas for the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR) and Reply’s team will support you in defining the main impacts.

Case Study

Liquidity & Interest Rate Risk Assessment on Complex Financing Structures

Avantage Reply assisted a well-known universal bank in the Eurozone to analyze, assess and document the potential liquidity and interest rate risks related to complex financing structures. The tailor-made financing solutions are important for more sophisticated clients, mostly corporations with precise financial needs, and aim at financing them via term loans, leasing, liquidity raising, securitization or short-term investments.

Case Study

National Central Bank Reporting Support

Avantage Reply assisted the finance department of a well-known bank in updating its process to produce monthly and quarterly statistical reporting for the Nation’s Central Bank, following the publication of the updated guidelines. This guideline modifies the statistical reporting requirements for credit institutions

Case Study

Recovery Plan Update

The client, a subsidiary of a leading bank, is required to maintain and update their Recovery Plan on the regular basis. Given internal resource limitations along with new requirements, the client required an assistance in the review and update of the plan. Avantage Reply provided a recovery plan expert who 1) updated the plan according to the latest regulatory requirements and 2) integrated the recommendations received from the internal audit function as well as the national regulator.

Case Study

Support with Credit Risk Regulatory Inspection

The client, a European-based leading bank in online financial services that offers state-of-the-art solutions to meet investment needs, required support from Avantage Reply on the preparation of a regulatory inspection for Credit risk and IT-related topics.

Case Study

Finance Function Support

Avantage Reply supported the Finance department of an internationally operating custodian bank in their daily and monthly production of internal and regulatory reports, as well as other routine activities. The client was handling a large project, the complexity of which had to be managed, while simultaneously completing all regularly occurring tasks to the highest possible standard without any disruption.

20.03.2023

News & Communication

Impact of the new Dora Regulation on Luxembourg based Financial Institutions

The publication of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) for financial institutions in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 27, 2022, has significant implications for Luxembourg-based financial entities. Avantage Reply is actively assisting these entities to ensure they are prepared to meet this challenge.

Case Study

Supporting daily ALM activity and reporting

Avantage Reply assisted a Finance department of a well-known private bank in daily activity and reporting production of the Assets and Liabilities Management team. The key tasks were assist the team in the improvement and preparation of the Internal Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process (ILAAP), advise on the regulatory requirements and contribute to the implementation of local.

Case Study

Testing of liquidity regulatory reporting in light of the new BO system

Avantage Reply assisted a Finance department of a well-known private bank in the connectivity test phase within back office tool migration. The project covered a wide range of activities such as conducting multiple User Acceptance Tests (UAT) with on-shore teams, verify the impact of the change on regulatory reporting.

Case Study

Finance reporting support

Avantage Reply assisted a Finance department of a well-known private bank in daily and monthly reporting production related to liquidity. The key tasks were: produce and certify various regulatory reports, such as LCR, AMT, NSFR incl. contributions to group consolidated reports; produce and certify integral liquidity reports based on inputs from various business line.