On 28 June 2023, the EU Commission published its long-awaited package of reforms to the EU payments regulatory regime. Deeming the package an “evolution not a revolution” of the EU payments framework, the Commission has published proposals for:
• A third Payment Services Directive repealing and replacing the Payment Services Directive and Electronic Money Directive
• A new Payment Services Regulation, which will harmonize and directly apply most of the conduct obligations imposed on payments firms
• A new Regulation on a framework for financial data access, relating to open finance
• A new Regulation on the establishment of a digital euro

On 24 March 2023, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier issued a press release requesting certain alternative investment fund managers, management companies of undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities and institutions for occupational retirement provision to participate in the data collection exercise relating to pre-contractual product disclosure information under Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector as amended and Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment as amended.

On 15 February 2023, the European Parliament adopted the regulatory reform of the European long-term investments funds (ELTIFs) regulation to make these ELTIFs more attractive to asset managers and retail investors by facilitating their investments in the real economy and encouraging private capital flows toward more environmentally sustainable investments.
Since coming into force in 2015, the existing ELTIF regulation has offered long-term investment opportunities for professional and retail investors across Europe.
However, due to significant constraints on the distribution process and stringent rules on portfolio composition, only a limited number of ELTIFs have been launched to date.

European Union, online public access to the Luxembourg register of beneficial owners (RBO) was temporarily suspended.
On 16 December 2022, online access to the RBO was re-established for professionals subject to the amended law of 12 November 2004 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (“Professionals”), such as professionals from the financial and insurance sectors, auditors, real estate agents and developers, persons carrying out a family office activity, notaries and lawyers.
On 1 February 2023, the Luxembourg Business Register announced that all entities registered with the Luxembourg trade and companies register that have made an RBO declaration will be receiving a confidential code allowing them to access their own RBO data and order an RBO extract even though they do not qualify as Professionals.

This virtual seminar series provides insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Recordings of the following sessions are now available — The Crypto Ecosystem; Integrating Crypto into Established Financial Services (Part 1: Funds and Listings and Part 2: Practical Considerations); Crypto Risk: Significant Legal and Regulatory Risks; A Deep Dive into NFTs; and DeFi (Decentralized Finance).

Following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 22 November 2022, access to the Luxembourg register of beneficial owners website via the internet has been temporarily suspended. This judgment, taken on a preliminary ruling from the Luxembourg District Court in a dispute between the beneficial owners of an entity registered in Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Business Register, underlines that access without distinction of user quality, although imposed by the text of Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing transposed into Luxembourg law, is contrary, in particular, to Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

In October 2022, the Council of the EU published the long-awaited compromise text of the proposed Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA), a “landmark regulation” that, according to the Council, will “put an end to the crypto wild west”. Once in force, MiCA will establish the first comprehensive, pan-EU regulatory regime for the regulation of cryptoassets, including the regulation of (i) cryptoassets issuance activities and (ii) cryptoasset service providers (who will be held to similar regulatory standards to those imposed on investment firms).

On 12 October 2022, the “Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA” (AED) released on its website several documents regarding the AML/CFT supervision of Luxembourg alternative investment funds (AIFs) that are not supervised by the “Commission de surveillance du secteur financier”. The AED requires Unregulated AIFs to file the “RR/RC identification form” and file the “AIF AML/CFT Questionnaire 2021” for the financial year ending in 2021 by the close of business on 12 November 2022 at the latest.

The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging. The Crypto Boot Camp 2022 Series covers the crypto ecosystem and integrating crypto into established financial systems (recordings available), crypto risk (3 November 2022), NFTs (15 November 2022), DeFi (1 December 2022), and Growth in Crypto (6 December 2022).

On 27 July and 6 September 2022, the Commission de surveillance du secteur financier (CSSF) released a communiqué and a communication in relation to Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (SFDR) and the upcoming date of application of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 supplementing SFDR (SFDR RTS).
The CSSF outlined the deadline of 1 January 2023.
Specific updates of UCITS and AIFs pre-contractual (prospectus/issuing documents) and periodic documents (annual reports) are referred to and the CSSF created an accelerated procedure for the submission of updated pre-contractual documents with templates of confirmation letter that should accompany the filing of a prospectus/issuing documents.