Europe > Ireland

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 113 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Financial services industry x
Clear All Modify Search
Burcu Hacibedel
and
Mariusz Jarmuzek
Denmark’s nonbank financial institutions (NBFI) sector has substantially increased in size since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), becoming an important part of the financial system. Systemic risk associated with NBFIs have been contained but warrants close monitoring, especially regarding leverage, liquidity buffers, and interconnectedness. There are important mitigating factors that reduce systemic risk stemming from NBFIs in Denmark. Strengthening of systemic risk assessment and policy framework for NBFIs is warranted and could include developing a systemic risk assessment framework covering both banks and NBFIs and an ensuing system-wide stress testing framework.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses the macroeconomic impact of the pharmaceutical sector. The analysis focuses on Novo Nordisk, the leading pharmaceutical company in Denmark, and its productivity impact on the rest of the economy. Empirical evidence suggests only weak correlations between productivity shocks at Novo Nordisk and overall economic growth, as well as between Novo Nordisk’s productivity and that of other firms. The findings suggest there is limited risk that Denmark’s booming pharmaceutical company would become its “Nokia.” Although the pharmaceutical sector will be a key driver of growth, most of its production occurs overseas under Danish ownership. As a result, its linkages with the rest of the domestic economy, in terms of employment and supply chains, are somewhat limited. The empirical results also indicate limited spillover effects through productivity channels. However, the empirical results may underestimate the influence of Novo Nordisk due to limited data.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This paper highlights a technical note on Investment Funds: Regulation and Supervision for the Luxembourg Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has a robust supervisory framework with substantive improvements since the last FSAP, but some areas could be further strengthened. Given the structural importance of delegation for Luxembourg domiciled funds, initiating an on-site inspection framework for delegates outside Luxembourg assumes importance. CSSF’s enforcement framework could be substantially improved through enhancements on four key fronts. CSSF could improve the domestic regulatory framework on areas such as winding up, valuation, and approach to indirectly regulated Alternative Investment Funds AIFs. Given Luxembourg’s position as the domicile of EU’s largest IF sector, CSSF should actively continue to promote and contribute to EU level reforms on various topics. With respect to liquidity risks, CSSF should continue to actively contribute to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) guidance on the use of Liquidity Management Tools and to engage closely with ESMA and the EU Commission on the proposed revision of the Eligible Assets Directive.
International Monetary Fund. Legal Dept.
This paper presents a regional report on Nordic-Baltic technical assistance project: financial flows analysis, Anti-Money Laundering and combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Supervision, and Financial Stability. The purpose of the project is to conduct an analysis of cross-border ML threats and vulnerabilities in the Nordic-Baltic region—encompassing Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden (the Nordic-Baltic Constituency or NBC)—and issue a final report containing recommendations for mitigating the potential risks. The financial flows analysis presented in this report is based on the IMF staff’s analysis of cross-border payments data. Six out of the eight Nordic-Baltic countries have seen an increase in aggregate flows since 2013. Monitoring cross-border financial flows provides countries with a deeper understanding of their external ML threat environment and evolving cross-border related risks they are facing. Leveraging broader analysis of ML/TF cross-border risk, the Nordic-Baltic countries should develop their own understanding of higher-risk countries reflecting country-specific ML/TF threats.
Maddalena Ghio
,
Linda Rousova
,
Dilyara Salakhova
, and
German Villegas Bauer
During the March 2020 market turmoil, euro area money-market funds (MMFs) experienced significant outflows, reaching almost 8% of assets under management. This paper investigates whether the volatility in MMF flows was driven by investors’ liquidity needs related to derivative margin payments. We combine three highly granular unique data sources (EMIR data for derivatives, SHSS data for investor holdings of MMFs and Refinitiv Lipper data for daily MMF flows) to construct a daily fund-level panel dataset spanning from February to April 2020. We estimate the effects of variation margin paid and received by the largest holders of EURdenominated MMFs on flows of these MMFs. The main findings suggest that variation margin payments faced by some investors holding MMFs were an important driver of the flows of EUR-denominated MMFs domiciled in euro area.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
While domestic money laundering (ML) threats are well understood by the authorities, Ireland faces significant and increasing threats from foreign criminal proceeds. As a growing international financial center,1 Ireland is exposed to inherent transnational money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) related risks. The ML risks facing Ireland include illicit proceeds from foreign crimes (e.g., corruption, tax crimes). Retail and international banks, trust and company service providers (TCSPs),2 lawyers, and accountants are medium to high-risk for ML, while virtual asset service providers (VASPs) pose emerging risks. Brexit, the recent move of international banks to Dublin, and the COVID-19 pandemic increased the money laundering risks faced by Ireland. The Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) nevertheless has demonstrated a deep and robust experience in assessing and understanding their domestic ML/TF risks; however, an increased focus on risks related to transnational illicit financial flows is required. A thematic risk assessment undertaken by the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee (AMLSC) of international ML/TF risks would enhance the authorities’ risk understanding and is key to effective response to the rapid financial sector growth. Introducing data analytics tools, including machine learning to leverage potentially available big data on cross-border payments, would allow for efficient detection of emerging risks. The results of this assessment should be published to improve the understanding of transnational ML/TF risks and feed into the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policy priorities going forward.
Mr. Carlos Sanchez-Munoz
,
Artak Harutyunyan
, and
Ms. Padma S Hurree Gobin
The Note is meant to assist compilers in the practical application of the agreed defini¬tion to identify resident Special Purpose Entities (SPE) in their jurisdictions and in collecting and reporting SPE-related cross-border data. To this end, these guidelines provide practical advice on the (1) implementa¬tion of the definition of SPEs, (2) possible data sources and processes for collecting and compiling SPE-related statistics, and (3) reporting within the agreed Data Template.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Ireland is a small open economy that is part of a monetary union and has a major financial system. Within the Euro Area (EA), Ireland comprises a relatively small proportion of aggregate GDP (3.4 percent), of which a significant portion is attributable to foreign-owned multinational enterprises (MNEs). Yet, the Irish financial system holds assets of EUR 7.9 trillion, over 18 times GDP. Since monetary policy is carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB) for the entire EA, macroprudential policy has the potential to play a critical stabilizing role for the Irish financial system.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This Technical Note on Oversight of Fintech explains that Ireland’s fintech sector is growing in importance through the entry of innovative new players and digital transformation of incumbents’ business models and products. This note seeks to identify risks arising from fintech as well as policy responses by authorities. The Irish Government has adopted a Strategy implemented by annual action plans for the development of Ireland’s international financial services sector that includes several initiatives of relevance to fintech. The Central Bank has an Innovation Hub that provides a single point of contact for stakeholders on fintech-related issues. Under the EU’s passporting framework host regulators receive limited information on the activities that passporting entities carry out in their jurisdiction. Incumbent retail banks in Ireland are dedicating significant resources to digital transformation, while fintechs are enlarging consumer choice through innovative new services. The Central Bank should further intensify its efforts to monitor developments on crypto-assets through systematic data collection within the scope of its powers and, where unacceptable risks remain, issue carefully targeted warnings and investor communications.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This considers the regulation and supervision of the market-based finance (MBF) sector in Ireland. Ireland has made good progress in implementing MBF-relevant recommendations from the 2014 and 2016 Financial Sector Assessment Programs, but some gaps remain. As the integrated regulator for the financial services sector, the Central Bank would benefit from greater formal legal independence, stronger enforcement powers and more flexibility on individual compensation to attract and retain scarce talent. There is scope for the Central Bank to leverage its expertise and experience to promote further EU convergence on MBF oversight. Closing data gaps would further enhance the Central Bank’s robust regulation and supervision of the MBF sector. The Central Bank should intensify its work to assess and mitigate financial stability risks of MBF. Finalization of work already under way on investment fund pricing errors should be prioritized, while oversight of SPEs deserves regulatory and supervisory attention. The introduction of a comprehensive framework for pricing errors will lay the foundations for greater investor protection and more consistent industry practices. Oversight of special purpose entities has improved from the perspective of statistical analysis, but more efforts are needed to strengthen governance practices.