Risk & Resilience

In this article, Norman Marks examines how chief risk officers can help executives make better decisions when competing investments demand limited resources. Using a hypothetical capital budgeting scenario and responses from four AI assistants, Marks argues that traditional risk ratings offer little help when comparing opportunities across cybersecurity, compliance, operations, and business growth. He makes the case for evaluating investments according to their potential impact on achieving enterprise objectives, giving decision-makers a consistent basis for weighing their options.

EIOPA has confirmed that a fund investing predominantly in listed securities of issuers that primarily make or manage private equity or private debt should be classified under CIC 47 (Private Equity Funds) in Solvency II template S.06.02. Because the fund is listed, the CIC country prefix must reflect the listing venue, or be XV if the fund is listed in multiple countries. Insurers and asset managers should review their investment fund classifications to ensure consistent and accurate regulatory reporting.

The Bundesbank and BaFin will publicly present the results of the 2026 stress test covering approximately 1,100 Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) in Germany on September 24, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. This is an announcement of a press event, not a new requirement, but the findings will signal supervisory priorities and sector-wide vulnerabilities. Compliance and risk teams at German banks, and at institutions with exposure to them, should prepare to review the results promptly.

EIOPA's Eurofi article explains that the revised Solvency II framework, applicable from January 30, 2027, is expected to release significant capital through a revised risk margin calculation. That release comes with an explicit political expectation that the capital will support productive European investment. Compliance teams should prepare for new capital treatments, closer supervisory monitoring of capital use, and EIOPA's first report by the end of 2028.

The FCA has published final rules and guidance for the new UK cryptoasset regulatory regime, which is expected to take effect on 25 October 2027. Cryptoasset firms must be authorized and supervised under FSMA to operate in or to the UK, so compliance teams should begin gap assessments and authorization planning now.

EIOPA argues that non-bank financial intermediation, especially insurer-held private credit, is necessary to meet EU investment needs. It also warns that growth must come with sound risk management, consistent definitions, and coordinated supervision. This is a thought-leadership article, not a binding rule. Even so, it signals supervisory priorities that insurers and other NBFI-exposed firms should expect to see in future reviews.

An ECB staff blog finds that about 80% of euro area households hold no market-based financial instruments, and that roughly one-third of household financial assets, nearly EUR $10 Trillion, sits in low-yield deposits. It calls for targeted financial literacy, simple investment products, and swift implementation of savings and investment accounts (SIAs) and pension reforms. The post is not binding, but it signals the direction of EU retail investment policy and the product and conduct expectations firms may face.