Sector

Despite a call by the ECB, European financial institutions do not seem to be immediately covered by the new corporate responsibility directive. A majority of member states reportedly do not want to decide on this until after the directive comes into force for non-financial companies. 

Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF on Wednesday announced 1 April as the deadline for its 2023 annual financial crime survey, an effort in which it collects data concerning money laundering and terrorism financing. Data collection will begin on 19 February, it said.

The current approach to the EU’s retail investment strategy may not adequately address broader issues such as the retirement savings gap, reflecting a need for a more holistic approach to financial education and pension policies, a leading European industry representative argues.

Banks are making some progress when it comes to KYC processes by bridging  regulatory expectations and client cooperation challenges.

Dutch pension funds are striving to address concerns about the high performance fees they pay to private equity funds by increasing accountability and explaining the dilemmas and choices surrounding these investments.

The European Securities and Markets Authority, or Esma, on Thursday announced that from 2025, cyber risk and digital resilience in Europe’s securities sector will take precedence alongside ESG reporting in terms of overarching priorities for the supervisors in EU member states.

Luxembourg, a hub for global finance, has seen a significant uptick in alerts on questionable transactions that could signal money laundering or even finance terrorism.

Despite rapid development, private credit is still in its very early growth stages. Despite macroeconomic and cyclical challenges, Jiři Król, the deputy CEO of the Alternative Investment Management Association, sees private credit catching up to the much larger private equity in the next 10 years. He also sees huge potential development from the reformed European long-term investment fund vehicle (Eltif).

Over the past decade, government initiatives have significantly curbed international tax evasion. However, the real impact of these measures remains a subject of debate. A new report now calls for a global minimum tax for the world’s ultra-rich.

Investment fund costs for both retail investors and institutions have become more volatile in 2022, according to data analysed by London-based Fitz Partners.

About one third - or 35 percent - of funds whose fees were changed last year have witnessed an increase in their charges to investors, with institutional equity funds leading the charge, according to data on around 40,000 fund share classes analysed by Fitz.