Afghanistan: Financial Services

The European Banking Authority and European System of Central Banks have published responses to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation consultation that signal a fundamental shift in EU digital finance architecture. Rather than expanding MiCAR's scope, regulators are focusing on repairing critical interfaces between crypto regulation and traditional financial services, addressing stablecoin liquidity, bank issuance models, group supervision, and the private-law treatment of tokens.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a landmark ruling that fundamentally changes how consumer credit providers must calculate borrowing rates across all EU Member States. The judgment establishes that interest may only be applied to the actual credit amount made available to consumers, not to financed costs such as insurance premiums that form part of the total cost of credit. This binding decision has immediate implications for credit institutions, consumer lenders, and firms providing mo