TITLE IVTRANSPARENCY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Article 27Benchmark statement
1
Within two weeks of the inclusion of an administrator in the F2FCA register, the administrator shall publish, by means that ensure fair and easy access, a benchmark statement for each benchmark or, where applicable, for each family of benchmarks, that may be used in the F3United Kingdom in accordance with Article 29.
Where that administrator begins providing a new benchmark or family of benchmarks that may be used in the F3United Kingdom in accordance with Article 29, the administrator shall publish, within two weeks and by means that ensure a fair and easy access, a benchmark statement for each new benchmark or, where applicable, family of benchmarks.
The administrator shall review and, where necessary, update the benchmark statement for each benchmark or family of benchmarks in the event of any changes to the information to be provided under this Article and at least every two years.
The benchmark statement shall:
a
clearly and unambiguously define the market or economic reality measured by the benchmark and the circumstances in which such measurement may become unreliable;
b
lay down technical specifications that clearly and unambiguously identify the elements of the calculation of the benchmark in relation to which discretion may be exercised, the criteria applicable to the exercise of such discretion and the position of the persons that can exercise discretion, and how such discretion may be subsequently evaluated;
c
provide notice of the possibility that factors, including external factors beyond the control of the administrator, may necessitate changes to, or the cessation of, the benchmark; and
d
advise users that changes to, or the cessation of, the benchmark may have an impact upon the financial contracts and financial instruments that reference the benchmark or the measurement of the performance of investment funds.
2
A benchmark statement shall contain at least:
a
the definitions for all key terms relating to the benchmark;
b
the rationale for adopting the benchmark methodology and procedures for the review and approval of the methodology;
c
the criteria and procedures used to determine the benchmark, including a description of the input data, the priority given to different types of input data, the minimum data needed to determine a benchmark, the use of any models or methods of extrapolation and any procedure for rebalancing the constituents of a benchmark's index;
d
the controls and rules that govern any exercise of judgement or discretion by the administrator or any contributors, to ensure consistency in the use of such judgement or discretion;
e
the procedures which govern the determination of the benchmark in periods of stress or periods where transaction data sources may be insufficient, inaccurate or unreliable and the potential limitations of the benchmark in such periods;
f
the procedures for dealing with errors in input data or in the determination of the benchmark, including when a re-determination of the benchmark is required; and
g
the identification of potential limitations of the benchmark, including its operation in illiquid or fragmented markets and the possible concentration of inputs.
F12a
By 30 April 2020, for each of the requirements referred to in paragraph 2, the benchmark statement shall contain an explanation of how ESG factors are reflected in each benchmark or family of benchmarks provided and published. For those benchmarks or families of benchmarks that do not pursue ESG objectives, it shall be sufficient for benchmark administrators to clearly state in the benchmark statement that they do not pursue such objectives.
Where no F6UK Climate Transition Benchmark or UK Paris-aligned Benchmark is available in the portfolio of that individual benchmark administrator, or the individual benchmark administrator has no benchmarks that pursue ESG objectives or take into account ESG factors, this shall be stated in the benchmark statements of all benchmarks provided by that administrator. For significant equity and bond benchmarks, as well as for F7UK Climate Transition Benchmarks and UK Paris-aligned Benchmarks, benchmark administrators shall disclose in their benchmark statements details on whether or not and to what extent a degree of overall alignment with the target of reducing carbon emissions or the attainment of the objectives of the Paris Agreement is ensured F8...
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2b
F9The Treasury may make regulations to supplement this Regulation by further specifying the information to be provided in the benchmark statement pursuant to paragraph 2a of this Article, as well as the standard format to be used for references to ESG factors to enable market participants to make well-informed choices and to ensure the technical feasibility of compliance with that paragraph.
3
F4The FCA may make technical standards to specify further the contents of a benchmark statement and the cases in which an update of such statement is required.
F5The FCA shall distinguish between the different types of benchmarks and sectors as set out in this Regulation and shall take into account the principle of proportionality.
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