After more than a year of discussions, and many years of preparation, the long-awaited reform of the ELTIF regulation has been adopted by the European Parliament on (15 February 2023).

The European Commission has released its first report on the use of financial information by law enforcement authorities, nearly two years behind schedule. While creating no immediate new obligations for financial institutions, the report clearly signals a future direction: networked account registers, standardized transaction data, and faster cross-border inquiries. As data architecture becomes increasingly integrated while the legal framework remains fragmented, financial institutions must understand the

Der Europäische Gerichtshof hat entschieden, dass Sollzinssätze bei Verbraucherkrediten nur auf den tatsächlich bereitgestellten Kreditbetrag angewendet werden dürfen – nicht auf mitfinanzierte Kreditkosten wie Versicherungsprämien oder Gebühren. Diese Klarstellung hat weitreichende Folgen für Kreditgeber in der gesamten EU, die ihre Produktgestaltung, Preislogik und Kundenunterlagen entsprechend anpassen müssen. Besonders betroffen sind Banken und Anbieter von

The Council of the European Union has adopted its 20th and 21st sanctions packages against Russia, marking a fundamental shift in EU sanctions policy. Rather than simply expanding lists of designated persons, these measures systematically target the financial infrastructure—payment channels, banking relationships, crypto-asset ecosystems, correspondent banking, trade finance, and maritime logistics—that enables Russia's war economy.

The European Union's 20th and 21st sanctions packages against Russia mark a fundamental shift in enforcement strategy, moving beyond traditional designation lists to systematically target the financial infrastructure enabling Russia's war economy. Financial institutions now face heightened compliance obligations requiring them to identify how transactions, financing arrangements, and digital assets may indirectly facilitate sanctioned economic activity across payment channels, banking relationships, crypto-

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, commonly known as MiCAR, introduced a comprehensive framework for the regulation of crypto-assets across the EU, including detailed requirements...

Today's guest details how European regulators are changing their approach to regulating Europe's markets and what that means for the financial services firms under their supervision.

As financial institutions operationalise the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the UK's Critical Third Party regime introduces a parallel framework with distinct differences. Both regimes expand regulatory oversight to encompass the digital infrastructure underpinning modern finance, creating new compliance challenges for internationally active firms and technology providers operating across jurisdictions.

On 25 September 2025, the European Court of Justice (‘EGC') upheld the action brought by both the Federal Network Agency, the national regulatory authority in Germany...

The Government of India had introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) in 2023 with the objective of regulating the processing of digital personal data, the rights and duties of individuals.

Germany's transitional exemption from the EU-wide Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) ban expired on 1 July 2026, and BaFin has issued detailed supervisory guidance outlining impermissible circumvention structures...

The National Assembly of Vietnam has enacted the long-awaited Personal Data Protection Law (abbr "PDPL") on 26 June 2025. This law represents a significant milestone in finalising...

As financial institutions continue to operationalize the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the UK's Critical Third Party Regime is increasingly coming into focus. With new critical third party designations published on July 13, 2026, understanding how these two supervisory frameworks interact becomes crucial for firms operating across both jurisdictions.

Die Europäische Kommission hat einen Fahrplan zur Stärkung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des europäischen Bankensektors vorgelegt, der auf gezielte Vereinfachung statt Deregulierung setzt. Der Fokus liegt auf dem Abbau regulatorischer Komplexität, effizienterer Kapital- und Liquiditätsnutzung sowie der Frage, wie Banken wieder stärker zur Finanzierung von Wachstum und Transformation beitragen können.

The European Central Bank has completed a comprehensive review of its supervisory publications within the Single Supervisory Mechanism, analyzing approximately 130 documents...

The European Commission has published a comprehensive report diagnosing the state of EU banking competitiveness and signaling the most significant policy intervention since Basel III completion. With European banks demonstrating strong capital positions but facing international competitiveness challenges due to market fragmentation and regulatory complexity, the report establishes competitiveness as a co-equal objective alongside financial stability. The gap between this July 2026 diagnosis and Q1 2027 legi

Legislative proposals to reform the EU's bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) framework (the Proposals)...

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.

Ireland's EU Council Presidency has launched a legislative-political agenda for the financial services sector, prioritizing competitiveness, simplification, and strategic resilience aligned with the Draghi and Letta reports. The program shifts EU financial market regulation from post-crisis risk reduction toward capital market deepening and digital sovereignty, with binding delivery commitments and timelines through year-end 2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a consultation paper proposing significant amendments to guidelines governing post-trade communication between investment firms and professional clients under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation. These changes mandate electronic standardised machine-readable messaging protocols, eliminate oral communication from regular workflows, and align regulatory expectations with the EU's transition to a T+1 settlement cycle taking effect in Octobe