Compliance in focus: duties, challenges and competencies of the Management Board and Supervisory Board
The webinar with our partner Renate Prinz focuses on the latest compliance challenges for executives and supervisory boards. It delves into essential topics that are highly relevant today, both for C-level executives and non-executives on governing bodies. We begin with a thorough introduction to current compliance requirements and the organization of compliance within the company.
Explore key themes, including whistleblowing, anti-money laundering, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, and ESG. A central focus of the Passion for People webinar is understanding the specific responsibilities that board members and supervisory boards bear in this context, as well as effective ways to [...]
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Renate Prinz in FinExtra: “Non-Performing Loans are now subject to regulation: What it means.”
- What are NPLs?
- What is the NPL Directive?
- What are the credit servicer obligations?
- What are the NPL purchaser obligations?
- How is the regulation handled?
- How will new regulation change the NPL environment? [...]
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Licence requirement for credit service providers – services for non-performing loans now require a licence
When the Secondary Credit Market Act (Kreditzweitmarktgesetz) came into force on 30 December 2023, services relating to non-performing loans, i.e. loans that are no longer being settled or are at risk of default, will require a licence. Companies that already provide credit services today had to register with BaFin in February and state that they will continue to provide these services and now have until April to submit a licence application. A transitional regulation will then apply to them, under which the services can initially still be provided without a licence. In addition, the sale of NPLs by credit institutions [...]
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Are You Ready for MiCAR? – Webinar on the Introduction to the new EU Crypto Regulation
We had the pleasure to host our webinar on the new regulation of crypto-assets in the EU (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR)), with a focus on the scope of MiCAR, licensing requirements and procedures, and obligations for crypto-asset service providers in the EU. Our experts, specializing in Financial Regulatory Law with a focus on the current crypto regulation, engaged in discussions regarding the upcoming changes due to MiCAR in 2024.
The seminar was targeted at all those who were (or aspired to be) involved in the crypto scene or provided services in this domain, seeking insights into compliance with the [...]
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FinmadiG and KMAG – Implementation of European crypto-financial market regulation in Germany
The German legislator has responded to the harmonization of European financial market regulations: In October 2023, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the draft bill for the Act on the Digitization of the Financial Market (Finanzmarktdigitalisierungsgesetz – “FinmadiG“), followed by the publication of the government draft of the FinmadiG just one month later.
MiCAR, DORA and money transfers – what does the FinmadiG implement?The FinmadiG is intended to implement the following EU regulations on digital financial market regulation:
- Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (“MiCAR”): The first EU-wide uniform set of rules for markets in crypto assets (we provided information here, for [...]
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Update for securities institutions: German Securities Institutions Owner Control Ordi-nance published
On January 15, 2024, the German Securities Institutions Owner Control Ordinance was published in the Federal Law Gazette and thus entered into force today, January 16, 2024.
Owner control procedures for securities institutionsThe Securities Institutions Owner Control Ordinance regulates the material and formal requirements for the acquisition of a significant shareholding in a regulated securities institution (so-called owner control procedure).
A significant or qualified shareholding is defined as the direct or indirect holding of shares in a company that represents at least 10% of the capital or voting rights of this company or that otherwise enables the exercise of [...]
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SEC approval for crypto ETF
Yesterday, on January 10, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) made the long-awaited decision by the crypto scene to allow the listing and distribution of exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that track the price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, so-called Bitcoin spot ETFs. Specifically, 11 of these Bitcoin spot ETFs were approved by SEC, including those from major market players such as BlackRock, Ark Investments and Fidelity. The approval decision was preceded by a false report shortly before the SEC decision, which once again led to considerable market distortions. The approval took a year-long coordination process between the parties involved and [...]
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What To Expect From The EU’s New PSD3, PSR AND FIDA Regulations
The Payment Services Directive II (PSD2) has changed the payment services industry in Europe. However, many details remain open and impractical and the implementation of the directive and the administrative practices of local financial supervisory authorities differ greatly in some cases. A reform is now pending with PSD3, which aims for a higher degree of harmonization and will bring with it many new requirements for payment service providers.What are the most important changes and challenges facing the industry? How can payment service providers prepare? Read the article by Renate Prinz and Annabelle Rau to find out how the planned PSD [...]
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ELTIF 2.0 – Alternative to the Open-Ended Real Estate Mutual Fund?
Introduction
The European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) is a European investment vehicle that was introduced for economic policy considerations, to provide additional financing opportunities to certain industries and companies. Although the European Commission launched the ELTIF in 2015, relatively few ELTIFs have been authorised since then. As of July 2023, only 95 ELTIFs existed according to ESMA’s public register. Most of these were issued in Luxembourg, France, Spain and Italy.
This year, however, the ELTIF has been subject of much discussion, especially in Germany. Why? The ELTIF Regulation has been fundamentally revised recently. The new regulations will come [...]
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Distribution of closed-end funds – On the necessity of revocation instructions under the German Civil Code (BGB)
When distributing investment funds and designing the fund documentation, information on revocation rights must be observed. This applies not only to mutual funds, but also to special funds if they are sold to “consumers” as defined by the German Civil Code. In addition to small investors, this may also include semi-professional investors. While the KAGB contains a special regulation in the area of open-end funds, the general regulations of the BGB apply to closed-end funds – which, however, do not apply to investments in closed-end funds.
Frank Müller and Tobias Koch outline which special features have to be [...]
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