Worldwide: Financial Services

FinanceMalta speaks with Jochen Biedermann, Managing Director of the World Alliance of International Financial Centres, exploring the evolving landscape of global financial centers. The discussion examines how geopolitical shifts, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping international finance hubs and their strategic positioning in the modern economy.

The European Union has modernized its consumer financial services framework through new rules for distance contracts, fundamentally reshaping how financial institutions must interact with consumers in digital environments.

Advocate General Kokott has delivered her Opinion in Commission v Luxembourg (Case C-138/24), recommending that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)...

Ο περί Μεταβιβάσεως και Υποθηκεύσεως Ακινήτων (Τροποποιητικός) Νόμος του 2026 (Ν. 76(Ι)/2026)...

Αμετάβλητη διατηρήθηκε η πιστοληπτική ικανότητα της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας στη βαθμίδα Α3 στην αξιολόγηση του Διεθνούς Οίκου Moody’sopens in a new tab, η οποία δημοσιεύθηκε χθες. Η εν λόγω αξιολόγηση επιβεβαιώνει την &

The Central Bank of Ireland has published two significant reports detailing the evolution of its gatekeeping framework for financial services firms and individuals.

On 24 April 2026, the Joint Committee (JC) of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs)—comprising the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)—published its Annual Report for 2025. The JC, chaired in 2025 by EIOPA,1 continued to serve as the central coordinating forum facilitating dialogue and information exchange among the ESAs, the European Commission and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).

The European Commission's draft guidelines on classifying high-risk AI systems under the AI Act have significant implications for financial services providers, particularly those using AI for creditworthiness assessments...

The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a definitive statement clarifying that the MiCAR transitional period expires on 1 July 2026, after which any entity providing crypto-asset services to EU clients without proper authorization will be in breach of EU law. This regulatory deadline represents a fundamental legal transformation of the EU crypto-asset market, affecting business models, contractual relationships, board exposure, and enforcement risk for crypto-asset service providers.