European Union: Finance and Banking

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has launched a public consultation on targeted reforms to the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, proposing changes that could significantly impact Ireland's private funds landscape. The consultation addresses three key areas: increasing the maximum number of partners from 20 to 149, introducing a statutory whitelist of permitted activities for limited partners, and allowing greater flexibility regarding capital contributions and withdrawals.

From 11 January 2027, non-EU banks and significant investment firms must establish licensed branches in each EU Member State where they provide core banking services, or operate through authorized EU entities. Ireland has implemented CRD VI's Article 21c requirements through faithful transposition, introducing a third-country branch regime that affects cross-border lending involving Irish companies, with important exemptions including reverse solicitation that may enable continued market participation.

Explore a comprehensive collection of financial sector publications covering banking, capital markets, pensions, insurance, taxation, funds, asset management, and private wealth management. Access annual reports, benchmarking studies, and industry analyses from Malta's financial services sector spanning 2023-2026.

Malta's aviation finance sector is poised for significant expansion as the MFSA introduces a groundbreaking consultation on new rules for aircraft financial leasing companies. The proposed Article 3B framework offers an alternative pathway for companies to enter the aircraft leasing market without full licensing requirements, while maintaining robust regulatory oversight through a notification-based system with ongoing compliance obligations.

Malta's financial regulator has proposed a new regulatory pathway for aircraft financial leasing companies that offers an alternative to existing licensing requirements. The consultation introduces Article 3B to the Financial Institutions Act, creating a registration-based framework with specific substance and governance requirements that could reshape how aviation finance entities establish operations in Malta.

Over the years, Malta has established itself not only as one of Europe’s leading yacht registries, but also as a sophisticated jurisdiction for yacht financing and security structures.

Die ESMA hat klargestellt, dass Event Contracts mit binärem Auszahlungsprofil als Derivate unter bestehende EU-Produktinterventionsmaßnahmen fallen und deren Vertrieb an Retail-Kunden EU-weit verboten ist. Unternehmen, die solche Produkte oder vergleichbare Prediction-Market-Instrumente anbieten, müssen ihre Produktklassifizierung, Vertriebskanäle und MiFID-II-Zulassungsstatus dringend überprüfen und dokumentieren.

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has published two draft reports on the Market Integration and Supervision Package that significantly expand the European Commission's proposals, introducing comprehensive direct ESMA supervision over all EU CCPs and CSDs, direct oversight of significant asset management groups, and a statutory competition mandate for ESMA. These far-reaching changes to EU capital markets supervision architecture will fundamentally impact regulated firms' supe

The European Commission has adopted two delegated acts as part of the CSRD simplification under the Omnibus I package...

Malta has established its first Notified Professional Investor Fund under the Single Family Office Exempt Manager Framework, offering family offices a proportionate regulatory pathway that balances efficient wealth structuring with appropriate oversight. The framework provides an alternative to institutional fund manager requirements, enabling single family offices to manage private wealth through NPIFs with governance structures suited to their scale and operations.

The Central Bank of Ireland has completed its review of delegation practices across fund management companies, examining how the sector's dramatic growth to €5.6 trillion in assets has impacted oversight and governance frameworks. With 9,000 authorized funds now supported by 121 FMCs, the regulator has identified both effective practices and areas requiring enhancement across five critical operational domains. FMCs must now benchmark their policies against these supervisory expectations and implement

US fund managers establishing Luxembourg special limited partnerships face critical decisions about board composition and liability exposure.