Intelligence

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has published new Minimum Requirements for Risk Management (WpI MaRisk) specifically designed for small and medium-sized investment firms in Germany. These regulations will introduce significant changes to compliance functions and outsourcing requirements, fundamentally reshaping how these firms manage regulatory obligations and operational risks.

European independence is ultimately a question of financing. The State of the European Union 2026 demonstrates how Banking Union, Savings and Investments Union, crisis management, market supervision, insurance resilience, and strategic financing are increasingly being considered together. Particularly relevant for financial market participants are the planned Bank Competitiveness and Simplification Package, new considerations for cross-border capital and liquidity mobility, EDIS and crisis financing, the de

Private equity sponsors acquiring EU investment firms through third-country holding structures face complex regulatory architecture decisions under the Investment Firms Regulation and Directive. While there is no automatic EU intermediate holding company requirement, national competent authorities possess discretionary powers to mandate one where effective group-level supervision is absent, creating potential 'regulatory architecture debt' that accumulates with each successive acquisition.

The European Parliament has tabled over 1,900 amendments to the Market Integration and Supervision Package, transforming it from a straightforward proposal into a complex negotiation between competing models for European market supervision and infrastructure. As the Commission's original December 2025 proposal becomes obsolete and multiple parliamentary drafts emerge with conflicting visions, financial firms face critical questions about which supervisory architecture will ultimately govern their licenses

General Partners launching private equity or venture capital funds face significant challenges in financing their GP commitment, particularly when operating in the defense technology and dual-use sectors.

Germany's implementation of the EU AI Regulation assigns BaFin as the market surveillance authority for AI systems in financial services, while new guidance clarifies investment product classifications under PRIIPs and establishes transitional rules for ESG rating providers. BaFin also provides supervisory guidance on the Payment for Order Flow ban affecting investment firms and neo-banks.