The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) has published a report detailing a monitoring framework for systemic liquidity risks within the financial system. This framework addresses two primary dimensions of liquidity: funding liquidity, which pertains to the ability of financial institutions to secure funding, and market liquidity, which relates to the capacity of market participants to trade financial assets swiftly and in substantial volumes without causing significant price fluctuations. Additionally, the framework assesses the risks of contagion and amplification, recognising that localised liquidity shortages can escalate into widespread stress across various entities and markets, potentially intensifying through adverse feedback loops. The report introduces three composite indicators designed to identify underlying vulnerabilities that may lead to heightened liquidity stress: one for funding liquidity risks, another for market liquidity risks, and a third for contagion and amplification risks.

This week's edition of Financial Services weekly highlights includes: a BoE and PRA letter on the 2024 Cyber Stress Test findings; a new streamlined authorisation process for managing agents announced by the PRA, FCA, and Society of Lloyd’s; an EBA consultation on amending RTS to shorten the application timeframe for own funds and eligible liabilities under the EU CRR; and an IAIS Application Paper on the fair treatment of a wide range of consumers; plus dates for your diary over the coming week.

UK Finance has published the contents of a letter addressed to the governor of the Bank of England (BoE) written on behalf of the eight UK stress-tested banks and building society and UK Finance. In the letter, the parties say they share the objective of ensuring the UK remains at the technological frontier of safe and resilient payments innovation, supporting openness, trade and growth. In this context the parties welcomed the BoE’s approach to innovation in money and payments discussion paper.

This Practice Note examines employment-related claims that either may or must be brought in the High Court or County Court. It gives a very high level overview of the procedure applicable to employment-related claims in the High Court and County Court under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) and signposts further resources available in the Dispute Resolution module which provide a full and comprehensive guide to civil procedure. It also considers: how to deal with overlapping employment tribunal and civil court claims; post-termination restrictions (restrictive covenant) claims; tortious claims (eg personal injury, negligence and stress at work); in which court the claim should be brought; judicial review proceedings; and the time limits for civil court proceedings, extending time and determining the limitation period. It then contains an overview of the main procedural steps in a claim in the civil courts: pre-action steps including the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, compliance with pre-action protocols, pre-action behaviour in non-protocol cases, how to start a claim, defendant’s action after particulars of claim are served, case management,

1 The aim of the absence management strategy 1.1 To reduce the annual absence rate from [insert rate, eg 3.5%] to [insert rate, eg 2.0%]. 1.2 [To reduce the detrimental impact on service delivery that the high rate of short, sporadic absence is having on the firm.] 1.3 To manage long term sickness more effectively so its impact on the firm’s absence rate is reduced. 2 Key trends and causes of absence over the past 12 months 2.1 [One employee has been absent for six months with long-term sickness related to stress (following the breakdown of marriage). No meetings

Ireland—Banking & Financial Services analysis: This article was written by A&L Goodbody’s Asset Management and Investment Funds Team. It covers European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) common supervisory action (CSA) findings on compliance and internal audit, EU reporting simplification initiatives, EU money market funds (MMFs) developments (including an ESMA stress test consultation), ESMA’s CSA on Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) sustainability aspects, and Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) developments on direct supervision.

A round-up of financial services developments.

MLex Summary: EU dumping duties of up to 46.2% in place on EU imports of pre-and post-stressing wires and wire strands of non-alloy steel from China are under review to see if their expiry would result in continued dumping and harm, the European Commission said on 1 September 2026. The request for a review was brought in June 2026 by the European Stress Information Service on behalf of the EU industry of PSC wires and strands.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a staff paper which argues that, to safeguard financial stability at the national and global levels, and better protect markets and economies from crippling capital outflows, it is necessary to boost the resilience of investment funds. A key part of this involves reducing the scope for investment funds’ business models to amplify the macrofinancial impact of adverse shocks, making their business operations less likely to be susceptible to asset fire-sales during stress.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has conducted a thematic review of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) to analyse their intraday liquidity risk management practices.The review was prompted by recent financial stress episodes including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Credit Suisse failure in 2023, the 2022 UK gilt market turmoil, and the 2022 energy crisis. The review found that while the sampled banks have functioning practices for managing intraday liquidity risk, the maturity of these frameworks differed across banks.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published findings from its multi-firm review of liquidity risk management at wholesale trading firms, particularly brokers, under the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR). The review highlights the impact of recent stress events such as the COVID pandemic, the Russia/Ukraine war, and the failures of Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank on firms' liquidity. It identifies both good and poor practices in liquidity risk management, emphasising the need for firms to update their stress assumptions and improve their risk management frameworks. Key findings include firms' failure to identify the full range of liquidity risks, underestimation of liquidity risk exposures, and reliance on immediate access to liquidity facilities. Actions taken by firms in scope of the review to address these issues include implementing remediation programmes and improving risk management frameworks.

With technology sweeping through the workplace and changing the way we do things on an almost daily basis, it can feel rather like going for a paddle in a rough sea—a wave of change comes along and nearly sweeps you off your feet but, before you’ve regained your balance, the next wave is bearing down on you. This practice note will help you identify what you are currently doing that is helping and hindering your personal resilience when dealing with these waves of change and offer a number of practical tips for dealing with ongoing change. What is personal resilience? The internet offers the following definition: Psychological a resilience is defined as an individual's ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity. Stress and adversity can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace and financial worries, among others. Wikipedia This is where the first challenge arises—though this Practice Note is focusing on building your resilience in the workplace the reality for most of us is that there