AMF Doctrine – Direct Lending by French Funds
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the French financial markets regulator, the “AMF”) has published on 27 June 2016 an Instruction n° 2016-02. This instruction is published within the new regulatory framework in France pursuant to which certain French AIFs and ELTIFs can now grant loans directly (it should be noted that, as of today, only ELTIF can grant loans directly. Other forms of French AIFs will be authorized to do so upon publication of a decree which should occur in the coming weeks). The Instruction provides information regarding the regulatory requirements for management companies which manage such AIFs. As a result, it details the procedure to be followed with the AMF and the Banque de France (with respect to reporting requirements).
Read AMF Instruction n° 2016-02 dated 27 June 2016 (in French).
AMF Doctrine – TRACFIN requirements
The AMF updated its Position-Recommandation n° 2010-23 on the reporting obligation to TRACFIN in the context of recent legal and regulatory updates (including the update of the AMF General Regulations with respect of the implementation of the AIFMD, the French Banking Law on the separation and regulation of banking activities and the authorization under French law of crowdfunding). The update relates mainly to the reporting process to TRACFIN.
Read AMF's press release from June 2016 (in French).
MiFID 2 Implementation
The Directive 2014/65/UE dated 15 May 2014 (“MiFID 2”) was recently implemented under French law by an Ordinance n° 2016-827 dated 23 June 2016. Among others, the Ordinance amends the French Monetary and Financial Code with respect to the new provisions applicable with respect to the information obligations regarding remunerations for financial services providers and the new legal framework on the good practices rules. The provisions of MiFID 2 will be applicable as of 3 January 2018.
Read Ordinance n°2016-827 dated 23 June 2016 (in French).
Read the AMF Guide on the Implementation of MiFID 2 (in French).
PRIIPs - Update of the AMF General Regulations
The AMF General Regulations have been updated in the context of EU Regulations n° 1286/2014 dated 26 November 2014 pursuant to which a key information document for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) shall be prepared for all financial product marketed to retail investors. The Regulations will be applicable as from 1 January 2017, it being provided that UCITS and AIFs publishing a KIID compliant with the UCITS V Directive benefit from a delay until 31 December 2019. Certain categories of French AIFs couldn’t draft KIIDs and would therefore had been subject to the Regulations as of next year. As a result, an Arrêté dated 20 June 2016 update the AMF General Regulations in order to authorize certain AIFs (i.e., including, among others, specialised professional funds (fonds professionnels spécialisés), professional private equity funds (fonds professionnels de capital investissement) and real estate funds (organisms de placement collectif immobilier) to publish a KIID compliant with the UCITS V Directive, which allows such funds to benefit from the delay under the Regulations.
Read the Arrêté (in French).
