Domestic
Central Bank of Ireland publishes 47th edition of the AIFMD Q&A
On April 4, 2023, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) published an update of the AIFMD Q&A. Q&A ID1145 sets out requirements and clarifies investment limits for qualifying alternative investment funds for investors (QIAIFs) with indirect exposure to digital assets, previously referred to as “crypto assets”. The CBI clarified that for the purposes of its guidelines, “digital assets” refers to digital assets based on an “intangible or non-traditional underlying asset” and does not include investments that are tokenized traditional assets whose value is tied to an underlying asset. value. traditional asset or pool of assets. Digital assets falling within the scope of the CBI rules therefore include, for example, investments in cryptocurrencies or NFTs. The investment limits for QIAIFs seeking indirect exposure to digital assets are as follows:
where a QIAIF is open-ended it can get exposure to digital assets up to 20% of its net asset value (NAV) where a QIAIF is closed-ended or open-ended with limited liquidity it can get exposure to digital assets up to 50% % of NAV
The CBI has also updated the 39th edition of the UCITS Q&A to reflect the revised position for Ireland-domiciled funds to gain exposure to digital assets.
CBI publishes information note on liability-driven investment funds
The CBI has taken note of the recent statement from the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) published on March 29, 2023. The CBI expects that the minimum safeguards highlighted in a letter from the FPC in November 2022 regarding maintaining a minimum yield buffer of 300-400 basis points will be adhered to.
CBI confirms application of recent ESMA Statement on Derivatives Trading Obligation (DTO)
The CBI has confirmed that it will apply the recent ESMA Statement on Derivatives Trading Obligation (DTO) in the context of the migration of credit default swap contracts from ICE Clear Europe. This is intended to support the migration of positions from ICE Clear Europe to other CCPs, following the announcement of the upcoming closure of ICE Clear Europe’s credit default swap clearing service on October 27, 2023.
European
ESMA has updated some Q&As
On 31 March 2023, ESMA updated the following questions and answers:
Benchmarks Regulation on external audit reporting Trust and legal representation EMIR implementation on trade repository reporting DLT Pilot regulation on trade reporting and transparency MiFID II and MiFIR transparency themes on general transparency topics and settlement location MiFIR data reporting on Sovereign Issuer LEI and Identification for Stateless Individuals SFTR Data Reporting Issuer Jurisdiction Reporting
Guidance on certain aspects of the MIFID II remuneration requirements (ESMA35-43-3565) (applicable from 3 October 2023)
ESMA has published guidelines applicable to competent authorities and firms regarding the remuneration requirements set out in Article 27 of the MiFID II Delegated Regulation, as well as the conflict of interest requirements set out in Article 16(3) and Article 23 of MiFID II. and Article 34 of the Delegated Regulation MiFID II in the area of remuneration; and the rules of conduct set out in Article 24(1) and (10) of MiFID II. The guidelines also clarify the application of remuneration governance requirements under Article 9(3) of MiFID II. ESMA expects these guidelines to promote greater convergence in the interpretation of, and supervisory approaches to, the MiFID II remuneration requirements and the MiFID II requirements on conflicts of interest and remuneration conduct rules. The guidelines will apply from October 3, 2023.
Guidance on certain aspects of MiFID II suitability requirements (ESMA35-43-3172) (applicable from 3 October 2023)
The guidelines apply to competent authorities and firms with regard to Article 25(2) of MiFID II and Articles 54 and 55 of MiFID II Delegated Regulation. The guidelines apply to investment advice and asset management and mainly focus on situations involving private clients. ESMA expects the guidelines to promote greater convergence in the interpretation of, and supervisory approaches to, the MiFID II suitability requirements by highlighting a number of key issues and enhancing the value of existing standards. By ensuring that companies comply with regulatory standards, ESMA anticipates a corresponding strengthening of investor protection.
The guidelines will apply from 3 October 2023 – six months after the date of publication of the guidelines on the ESMA website in all official EU languages.
