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Risk management in times of non-conventional monetary policy

27 September 2017

The Eurosystem has a clearly defined objective, enshrined in the Treaty, to preserve price stability in the euro area.[1] The Treaty does not speak of eligible counterparties, collateral haircuts or issue share limits for bond purchases. However, you would be mistaken in assuming that managing financial risks has no role in the Eurosystem’s monetary policy implementation – especially in the light of the significant balance sheet expansion over the past few years. On the contrary, we have applied the guiding principles of our financial risk management framework in a stable manner. We established these principles long before we embarked on non-conventional policies, not least because we have a statutory obligation to lend only against adequate collateral. We continue to apply them to standard as well as non-standard policy measures.
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Webinar: Breaking through the 'Noise' around GDPR

26 September 2017

In 2018 the new GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation) will take act. GDPR enhances the protection of individuals with regard to processing and moving of personal data. This causes organizations to review and adjust their operational processes, which is often seen as a hurdle. But if you approach these regulatory changes regarding GDPR not as necessities, but rather as opportunities, they will lead to significant benefits for your business.
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Building on the achievements of post-crisis reforms

25 September 2017

The conference coincides with the tenth anniversary of the start of the global financial crisis in the summer of 2007. The crisis shook the European Union to the core, and required substantial policy actions to stabilise the economy and the financial system. With a return to stability having been achieved, it is important that we take time to reflect on what we have learnt, what we have achieved over the past ten years, and where we need to do further work.
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Whitepaper

IIA institute internal audit

Hot topics for internal audit 2018

24 September 2017

This year, a wider group of European Institutes of Internal Auditors have taken a more ambitious approach, interviewing Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) from major organisations in six European countries – France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK – to home in on key themes requiring the attention of internal audit to mitigate risk and protect and add value in their organisations.

These Hot Topics were identified through in-depth, qualitative interviews with CAEs across a diverse range of critically important sectors – construction/infrastructure, financial services, IT, manufacturing, public sector, retail/consumer, telecoms and utilities/energy – and from organisations that truly lead these industries. To put this into perspective, these organisations have an aggregate market capitalisation in excess of €724bn, revenues of over €441bn, employ more than 1.86 million staff and are present in no less than 173 countries. In the financial services sector alone, the CAEs represent internal audit functions in firms collectively worth €325bn and turning over upwards of €207bn.

This whitepaper provides knowledge and insights as an invaluable snapshot of the thinking of leading internal audit professionals across Europe.

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ECB: new unsecured overnight interest rate

22 September 2017

Overnight benchmark interest rates are important for financial markets and monetary policy implementation. ECB overnight rate will complement existing benchmark rates produced by the private sector and serve as a backstop to private sector benchmark rates. The preparations for rate to be finalised before 2020, including industry consultation.
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