For EU regulation, 2026 is the year of supervisory friction
EU financial regulation in 2026 will mean tougher scrutiny from supervisors and fewer new rules. With major frameworks on fund regulation, anti-money laundering, sustainability and market structure largely in place, the focus is shifting from lawmaking to enforcement. Across liquidity management, delegation and distribution, AML oversight and transparency requirements, experts see firms entering a year shaped by supervisory interpretation and uneven application.
‘Don’t touch AIFMD!’ say asset managers
The AIFMD may not be perfect but it is pretty good, so please don’t reform it after the current on-going review by the Commmission. This was the uniform message from a discussion at the ALFI European Asset Management conference on 16 March.
AIFMD reform is taking shape
The potential shape of the upcoming reform of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) became clearer this summer. The 18 August letter from Esma to the European Commission gave some strong hints on the outlook for this key text for Luxembourg’s fund industry.