MFSA issues circular to credit institutions and foreign branches outlining COVID-19 measures on timing of supervisory reporting Author: Ganado Advocates Published on April 22, 2020 On 15 April 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Circular to all Maltese credit institutions and foreign branches situated in Malta outlining COVID-19 measures on the timing of Supervisory Reporting. Measures relating to Significant Institutions (SIs) The MFSA confirms in its Circular that euro area SIs falling under the direct supervision of the ECB are being granted a 1-month extension for the submission of the below data with remittance dates between March 2020 and May 2020: i. Supervisory Reporting modules, with the exception of (a) LCR and ALMM modules, for which no extension is being granted; and (b) Funding Plans, for which a 2-month extension is being granted; and ii. ECB recurring data requests, with a few exceptions. The MFSA also mentions in the Circular that Joint Supervisory Teams (JSTs) will contact SIs in relation to a revised remittance calendar and any other details in this regard. Measures relating to Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) The MFSA also confirms in its Circular that it will be granting LSIs, a 1-month extension for the submission of Supervisory Reporting modules with remittance dates between March 2020 and May 2020, with the exception of (a) LCR and ALMM modules, for which no extension is being granted; and (b) Funding Plans, for which a 2-month extension is being granted where applicable. Measures relating to Foreign Branches Foreign branches will be granted a 1-month extension for the submission of Supervisory Reporting modules (FINREP, AE, and COREP OF) also with remittance dates between March 2020 and May 2020. In all cases, the MFSA is informing credit institutions and foreign branches situated in Malta that the above-mentioned extensions might be prolonged to other remittance dates if deemed necessary at a later date. Apart from the above measures, the Circular also includes additional information in relation to (i) ITS on Supervisory Reporting v2.9, whereby credit institutions and foreign branches are being informed that the framework still applies and are encouraged to refer to the MFSA’s Circular on the revised ITS on Supervisory Reporting on its application; (ii) Resubmissions of Supervisory Reporting modules, whereby credit institutions and foreign branches are being informed that the timeframe in relation to resubmissions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and communicated bilaterally; and (iii) Invalid Submissions, whereby credit institutions are being informed that invalid submissions in terms of XBRL business validation rules will still be sent to the ECB by an MFSA official despite the failing business validation rules as part of the temporary COVID-19 measures. The MFSA continues to monitor the situation closely and will communicate to the market further guidance as things develop. The article was authored by Caroline Gauci. Go back