Intensifying demands from regulators, investors, and the public for attention to environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") considerations presents a key challenge for risk managers, particularly those in the financial...more
Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 on the prudential requirements of investment firms and Directive (EU) 2019/2034 on the prudential supervision of investment firms (collectively, "IFR/IFD Framework") significantly change the...more
The Situation: The requirement for a paper-based note for issuing securities under the German law has been an obstacle for the use of security tokens in Germany. With the release of a draft bill (the "Bill") permitting the...more
The Situation: Three major pillars of the EU action plan on sustainable finance ("EU Action Plan") at varying stages of development have taken steps forward.
The Result: We now have a regulation on climate-related benchmarks...more
12/27/2019
/ Benchmarks ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EU Action Plans ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
European Commission ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
On October 24, 2019, the European Supervisory Authorities ("ESAs"), consisting of the European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Banking Authority, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority,...more
12/24/2019
/ Bond Markets ,
Comment Period ,
Consultation Papers ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Joint Statements ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Popular ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
Retail Investors
While the crypto market is still in its early stages, the number of asset managers offering funds investing in cryptocurrencies and companies using blockchain or distributed ledger technology ("DLT") is constantly growing....more
7/19/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Asset Management ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales ,
Tokenization
The Situation: The G20, a forum for governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union, had made the decision to combat money laundering and terrorism financing activities tied to the use of...more
7/1/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
G20 ,
Licensing Rules ,
Popular ,
Securities Tokens ,
Virtual Currency
With the aim of contributing to delivering a regulatory rulebook for European securitisation markets, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") has published an Opinion (ESMA33-128-600) containing a revised set...more
The Situation: On January 9, 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") issued advice to the EU Commission, Council, and Parliament on initial coin offerings ("ICOs") and crypto assets.
The Result: ESMA...more
2/22/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
MiFID II ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Token Sales
The Court Decision: On September 25, 2018, the Higher Regional Court of Berlin held that bitcoins would not qualify as financial instruments for the purposes of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz, "KWG"), thus...more
11/1/2018
/ BaFin ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EU ,
German Banking Act ,
Germany ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
MiFID II ,
Securities Regulation ,
Token Sales
The EU Commission is proposing measures to increase financial sector supervision in the wake of money laundering incidents.
The European Commission recently proposed expanding the Europe Banking Authority’s ("EBA") mandate...more
10/2/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cross-Border ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Member State ,
Risk Assessment
The Situation: The European Central Bank ("ECB") has announced that it will set bank-specific supervisory expectations for the provisioning of non-performing loans ("NPLs") in a consistent way across comparable banks, which...more
The Situation: The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") has fined several banks for negligently issuing credit ratings on a professional basis without obtaining the necessary authorization to be a credit rating...more
The Situation: The Member States of the EU have unanimously agreed on a proposed directive establishing new and far-reaching tax reporting obligations for "intermediaries" and taxpayers.
The Result: The proposal lays down...more