IFD/IFR – UE Prudential Regime

According to the European Commission and European Council, many years of observation of the European financial market have shown that investment firms require tailored prudential requirements. In response to these specific needs, new legal regulations have been created, which are to have a positive impact on maintaining the financial stability of investment firms. These requirements will result in new reporting obligations, the meeting of which can be supported with specialised reporting systems.

The EU legislator pointed to the fact that investment firms operating in individual EU member states are subject to various legal requirements; to a considerable extent, this hinders implementation of new prudential requirements defined by the EU. The implemented requirements are aimed at creating a coherent and unified regulation, at the European Union level, for investment firms. The IFD (Investment Firm Directive) and the IFR (Investment Firm Regulation) form a comprehensive prudential system.

What will change?

Investment firms will be obligated to report data covering their level of capital, concentration risk, liquidity, level of activity and own funds, along with K-Factors including risk to the firm, the market and the customer.  

Will all firms be bound by uniform reporting obligations?

Investment firms will be divided into three classes, depending on their size and complexity, and each will be subject to a particular prudential framework:

• Class 1: systemically important firms which will be subject to the CRD/CRR
• Class 2: residual category in which firms will be subject to the full IFR/IFD regime
• Class 3: small and non-interconnected investment firms subject to the IFR/IFD regime in a limited scope

Who is affected by these changes?

Prudential requirements will affect investment firms such as:

• brokerage houses,
• banks conducting brokerage activities,
• foreign investment firms conducting brokerage activities in EU,
• foreign legal persons residing or registered in the territory of a country other than an EU member state while conducting brokerage activities in EU.

What is the legal basis for these changes?

IFD (Investment Firms Directive) – Directive (EU) 2019/2034 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on the prudential supervision of investment firms and amending Directives 2002/87/EC, 2009/65/EC, 2011/61/EU, 2013/36/EU, 2014/59/EU and 2014/65/EU

IFR (Investment Firms Regulation) – Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on the prudential requirements of investment firms and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 575/2013, (EU) No 600/2014 and (EU) No 806/2014

Effective date

The IFD came into force on 25 December 2019, and EU member states had 19 months for its transposition into national law systems, which means that the schedule of implementation began on 26 June 2021.

From 26 June 2021 the IFRS are directly applicable in all member states, and the IFD should be transposed into local law on the same day, with the exception of disclosed environmental, social and management risks, including physical and transitional risk, which are delayed until 26 December 2022. Requirements concerning capital are subject to a five-year period of gradual implementation.

Can the process of implementing changes in firms be simplified?

Of course!

The eON system enables the efficient fulfilment of various reporting obligations, including the IFD/IFR.

One should remember that the implementation of new reporting obligations also entails the need to introduce changes to various procedures within investment firms.

In order to comply with the new requirements, teams that handle reporting will need to be prepared. System dedicated to IFD/IFR reporting will facilitate implementation, improve reporting work and minimise the risk of errors.