Update 16 November 2016
The PRA published Consultation Paper 40/16 'Solvency II: Reporting format of National Specific Templates and reporting clarifications'. The consultation closes on Tuesday 13 December 2016.
Update 15 November 2016
The PRA has withdrawn Consultation Paper 37/16 ‘Solvency II: Reporting of National Specific Templates’. The decision was taken following insight that a number of firms plan to report in XBRL-enabled Excel format for financial year end 2016. In respect of its decision, the PRA will issue two separate consultations:
i) a CP with the proposals for the reporting of National Specific Templates for financial year end 2016 and future financial year ends, using only Excel templates designed using XBRL principles, together with a number of reporting clarifications and technical corrections. The reporting clarifications and technical corrections will be identical to those proposed in CP37/16; and
ii) in a later CP, proposals for the future reporting of National Specific Templates.
Why has the PRA withdrawn CP37/16 and what happens next?
The PRA proposes to standardise the delivery of supervisory data using the international data standard for the reporting of financial, risk and supervisory information, ie XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), which is already used by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) for the reporting of data under Solvency II. XBRL significantly improves the transparency, consistency and quality of the data submitted and any potential analyses.
CP37/16 proposed new reporting formats for National Specific Templates (NSTs), in particular a transitional arrangement for financial year end 2016, whereby firms have the option to submit using XBRL-enabled Excel templates or full XBRL, and full XBRL for financial year end 2017 onwards.
Migrating systems and embedding full XBRL for the various reporting requirements is likely to take time both for industry and the PRA. The PRA considers that the focus for NSTs in the short to medium term is to implement the use of more robust Excel templates that are designed using XBRL principles.
Therefore the PRA will issue two new CPs. The first will focus on the reporting format for financial year end 2016 and future financial year ends, in which the PRA proposes to require firms to submit the information via the updated Excel templates mentioned above. This CP will also contain the reporting clarifications and technical corrections as proposed in CP37/16.
A second CP will follow later with the proposals for future reporting of NSTs.