Finance Ministry Proposes Changes to Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz)

According to the draft bill, certain types of unsecured claims against "credit institutions", as defined by the European Union capital requirement regulation (so-called CRR institutions), are subordinated in the event the bank concerned becomes insolvent. With the "bailing-in" of certain categories of claims, the legislation would subordinate the claims of senior unsecured bondholders to other unsecured claims, including claims based on unsecured deposits, derivatives and certain structured bonds that have been combined with derivatives. The purpose of the proposed German legislation is to implement Regulation (EU) No. 806/2014 which provides that creditors shall be required to bear losses equivalent to 8% of a bank's liabilities before governmental rescue funds are made available.

Read the proposed bill in full (in German)

German Federal Council Passes Retail Investors Protection Act 

The German Federal Council approved the Retail Investors Protection Act on 12 June 2015 which will enter into force in the near future. The Act is designed to improve investor protection and the transparency of offerings on the unregulated market. The new legislation, which is subject to parliamentary approval, will, inter alia, expand the prospectus requirement for certain (unregulated) financial instruments, introduce marketing provisions for offerors and introduce a special regime for crowdfunding structures.

Read the draft legislation in full (in German)

The German Finance Ministry has also published a FAQ on the new legislation (in German)

BaFin Postpones Annex IV Reporting Date for AIFs and AIFMs

In May 2015, BaFin again postponed the first reporting date for AIFMs and individual AIFs according to section 35 KAGB due to technical issues with the ESMA system. The first reporting date is now expected to be in August 2015. BaFin has also updated its reporting test system and is expected to update its Guidance Notice on section 35 KAGB.

New Law Passed to Implement Transparency Directive Amending Directive

The German Government proposed a draft bill on 29 April 2015 to implement Directive 2013/50/EU which amends the EU Transparency Directive. It includes, inter alia, amendments to the requirement to disclose voting rights arising from holdings of financial instruments that have a similar economic effect to holding the underlying shares.

Read the draft bill (in German)

German Investment Fund Statistics

The German Investment Fund Association, BVI, issued its latest investment statistics report in June 2015. The report is dated 30 April 2015 and gives an overview of the net assets and net sales within the German investment fund and asset management markets. The statistics are broken down by asset class and provider. They provide information on net assets and net inflows of investment funds and assets outside investment funds.

Read the latest German investment fund statistics