The German Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) has published a new draft circular on product oversight and governance arrangements for retail banking products with the objective of strengthening consumer protection in relation to financial products offered in the market. The draft circular shall govern how financial institutions are expected to control and manage the development and distribution of financial products in the retail customer segment. The draft circular is based on the European Banking…

On 24 July, the German Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) has published updated drafts of the Ordinance on the Examination of Investment Services Enterprises (Wertpapierdienstleistungs-Prüfungsverordnung – WpDPV) and of the Securities Trading Act Employee Notification Regulation (WpHG-Mitarbeiteranzeigeverordnung – WpHGMaAnzV). A consolidated Version of the WpHGMaAnzV can be viewed here. Main content of the WpDPV draft The draft of the WpDPV contains the requirements which shall be taken into account in the…

The German Investment Funds Association (BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e.V. – BVI) welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to enhance the supervisory arrangements for EU and third-country Central Counterparties (CCPs) in the interest of further market integration, financial stability and a level-playing field. In its statement, the BVI supports the proposal to enhance the power of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the relevant national Central Banks (NCB) in the EU…

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin)  has announced an extension to the monitoring period with respect to the distribution, issuance and marketing of credit linked notes (formerly known as “Bonitätsanleihen”, now called “bonitätsabhängige Schuldverschreibungen”) to retail clients until the end of September 2017 (view BaFin statement). In order to avoid a prohibition of the distribution, issuance and marketing of credit linked notes to retail clients announced by BaFin earlier…

In a recent press release the German Investment Funds Association (BVI) stated that it sees the EU Commission’s Regulation for the introduction of a Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP) as an important step to strengthen private retirement provisions throughout the European Union. “The retirement planning of EU citizens is one of the central issues the European Union has to address in light of demographic trends. With its PEPP regime, the European Commission has presented a…

The Second Financial Markets Amendment Act (Zweites Finanzmarktnovellierungsgesetz, 2. FiMaNoG) has been published in the Federal Law Gazette. Most parts of this amending act will enter into force on 3 January 2018. Individual provisions, however, such as the possibility to use standardised product information sheets for shares traded on an organised market, enter into effect immediately. The Second Financial Markets Amendment Act transposes the revised requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID…

On May 2017, the German Federal supervisory authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) organized a workshop for foreign issuers of securities. BaFin representatives held various presentations on the possible consequences of Brexit. Three major questions were discussed taking into account various Brexit scenarios: Which issuers of securities prospectuses are concerned? What are the effects on prospectuses for public offers? What are the effects on listing prospectuses? Moreover, BaFin has explained in which circumstances (e.g. prospectus…