What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of April 13, 2020 - April 17, 2020

This page contains the latest in events, developments, and updates to the FSA website.

Public Comments

(The following public comments are available in Japanese)

April 17, 2020	Publication of the draft amendments to the regulatory notices of leverage ratio requirements <Summary> The FSA proposed the draft amendments to the regulatory notices of leverage ratio requirements. In light of the increasing impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the proposal mainly intends to exclude the outstanding balance of financial institutions' current accounts at the Bank of Japan (BOJ) from the calculation of leverage ratio in order to maintain harmonization with the monetary policy implemented by the BOJ and the prudential regulations for banks and other financial institutions, in response to the request from the BOJ. Due to the uncertainty on the impact of COVID-19, the current minimum requirement of leverage ratio (3%) is maintained until the end of FY 2020.
April 17, 2020	Publication of the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act on Utilization of Information and Communications Technology for the Facilitation of Effective Administration Pertaining to Finance Related Laws and Regulations Under the Jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office" (provisional English title) <Summary> The FSA has finalized the "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act on Utilization of Information and Communications Technology for the Facilitation of Effective Administration Pertaining to Finance Related Laws and Regulations Under the Jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office" (provisional English title). The amendments allow online administrative application without digital signatures/certificates. The amended Cabinet Office Order has been enforced on April 17, 2020.
April 15, 2020	Publication of the draft "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Financial Instruments Business" <Summary> The FSA has proposed the draft "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Financial Instruments Business." While a rule for the phase-in schedule and transitional arrangement has been adopted for the application of margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives transactions in Japan since its enforcement in September 2016, the proposal mainly intends to defer the final two implementation phases of margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivative transactions, by one year, in order to provide a certain operational capacity for firms to respond to the immediate impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in consistence with the deferred implementation phases of margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives transactions announced by the BCBS* and the IOSCO** on April 3, 2020. * BCBS stands for Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. ** IOSCO stands for International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

Others

April 17, 2020	Statement by Minister for Financial Services, on maintaining the function of the financial system and financial markets under the declaration of a state of emergency responding to the spread of COVID-19
April 17, 2020	FSA updated Information on COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus)
April 15, 2020	Corporate Year-End Closing of Accounts, Auditing and Shareholders meeting in Response to the Increasing Impact of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus)

 

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Securities

April 16, 2020

Publication of the updated "FAQ on Financial Instruments Business" (provisional English title) <Summary> The FSA published the updated "FAQ on Financial Instruments Business" (provisional English title). The updates mainly pertain to the management of money and/or securities deposited with the Financial Instruments Business Operators by their customers in relation to security-related and/or commodity-related derivatives transactions.