On 23 February 2022, the Belgian Royal Decree of 8 February 2022 on the status and supervision of service providers for the exchange of virtual currency and fiat currency and custodian wallet providers (“Virtual Currency Royal Decree”) was published in the Belgian State Gazette. The Virtual Currency Royal Decree introduces registration requirements and operating conditions for virtual currency service providers into Belgian law. The Virtual Currency Royal Decree will enter into force on 1 May 2022, with a grandfathering regime for existing service providers.

A series of briefings that take a “bite-size” look at international trends in different jurisdictions, drawing on Baker McKenzie’s expert financial services practitioners.

This edition takes a bite-size look at the different rates of progress of environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulation and voluntary standards across the European Union, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

On 22 December 2020, the Belgian legislator adopted a royal decree containing Brexit transitional measures for the United Kingdom insurance industry aimed at temporarily ensuring the continuity of existing insurance policies as from 1 January 2021.

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) published guidance on the rules in relation to distance marketing of financial services and products, mainly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The FSMA’s communication provides useful and practical guidance for financial services firms to consider when using remote sales techniques when marketing their products or services.

In this regulatory briefing, we consider the FSMA’s guidance and discuss the most important rules that must be taken into account by the financial services industry in this regard.