Laws and Regulations

Brussels has opted to abandon the proposed establishment of a ‘European passport’ for depositary banks. While initially touted as an innovative concept, the idea was fraught with potential market challenges and risked undermining the work of supervisors. The alternative approach that has emerged now is being hailed as a success by Luxembourg banking association ABBL. 

Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF has updated its guidance for the crypto investment landscape, clarifying that only ‘well-informed investors’ within alternative investment funds can tread into the virtual asset territory.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is about to scrap the requirement for Scope-3 reporting. In doing so, the US stock market watchdog is driving a wedge between US legislation and the new European rules from the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD that will apply from next year.

The new European directive mandating corporate social responsibility for large companies has been blocked by the European Council as yet. Germany, Italy and France last week withdrew their support for the proposal they had agreed to as recently as December.

Luxembourg’s lawmakers are making strides in proposals aimed at alleviating the tax burden on actively managed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), aligning their fiscal treatment with that of standard passive ETFs, a senior industry voice made clear on Tuesday.

Luxembourg’s financial sector grapples with a stark wake-up call as concerns mount over its nonchalant stance towards impending cyber regulations outlined in the Dora Act; a prominent politician’s apprehensions highlight critical questions surrounding banks’ preparedness and the looming specter of potential sanctions.

Imagine a groundbreaking European savings and investment product, open to all 450 million individuals across the European Union, supported by a harmonised tax incentive endorsed by every EU member state. Wishful thinking? Probably so, but maybe not.

Luxembourg’s CSSF financial regulator on 20 February announced that in late 2023, it had imposed a nearly half-million euro administrative fine on Mizuho Trust & Banking (Luxembourg) S.A.

The 17 November 2023 fine of 444,400 euros was imposed for non-compliance with professional obligations under Luxembourg’s financial sector law relating to governance and IT organisation. 

Tokenisation is the next step for the asset management industry. So says not only Larry Fink, Blackrock’s CEO, but also Jeroen van Oerle, manager of Lombard Odier’s fintech strategy. He sees the potential impact mainly in private markets.

Luxembourg investment firms will have to provide annual self-certifications on key aspects of central administration, internal governance and risk management, according to a new rule introduced by financial supervisor CSSF.