Recital 2

(2)The Commission proposal for a new Regulation establishing the InvestEU Programme ² focusses on addressing EU-wide market failures and sub-optimal investment situations. That proposal includes the establishment of the InvestEU Advisory Hub that should support the development of a robust pipeline of investment projects and the InvestEU Portal that should provide investors with an easily accessible and user-friendly database of investment projects. InvestEU will thereby support investments in finance for small and medium-sized businesses in the form of bonds, loans or private equity as well as other long-term investments in equity. The standard formula for the calculation of the Solvency Capital Requirement does not provide for specific rules for investments in privately placed debt, private equity and long-term investments in equity. In light of the expected improvement in the accessibility of such investments by means of the InvestEU portal, such specific rules should be introduced. In addition, in light of the Action Plan on Building a Capital Markets Union of 30 September 2015, more investments in Europe should be encouraged and access to equity and debt funding for European small and medium-sized enterprises should be facilitated. The prudential treatment of private equity and privately placed debt should therefore be amended to remove unjustified barriers to investments in those asset classes.