Date: 25 November 2016

On 11 November 2016, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) - the European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – received a letter from the European Commission setting out the amendments it proposes to make to the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on key information documents (KID) for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs), accompanied by draft amended RTS.

The ESAs jointly submitted the draft RTS to the European Commission in April 2016 which was endorsed by the European Commission. The Council of the European Union raised no objections, however, the European Parliament rejected them on 14 September 2016. The European Commission considers that amendments to the RTS provisions on multi-option PRIIPs, performance scenarios and the comprehension alert are required to address the concerns expressed by the European Parliament.

The European Commission invites the ESAs to submit an Opinion on amending the RTS, based on the proposed amendments, within six weeks, and to develop guidance in line with the relevant provisions of the RTS on the practical application of credit risk mitigation factors for insurers.

The European Commission recently announced that it expects the PRIIPs rules to enter into force on 1 January 2018, instead of 1 January 2017.