Belgium

The FSMA has prepared a guide to the content and publication of information notes relating to the offer of investment instruments. Unlike a prospectus, an information note is not subject to ex ante supervision by the FSMA. Given the limited number of operations for which an information note has to be drawn up, those responsible for the information note do not always receive external advice or professional assistance. This guide is intended to help those responsible for drawing up information notes for such smaller-scale operations. More specifically, the FSMA wishes via this guide to set out the applicable rules and the...

Listed companies in financial difficulty are increasingly issuing convertible bonds in order to meet their financing needs. The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns shareholders of such companies of the major risk such issuances entail for them. A convertible bond offers the holder the right to convert the bond into shares. The conversion occurs at a conversion price set in advance. Usually, the conversion price will be higher than the market price of the issuing company at the time the convertible bond is issued. However, the conversion price is in some cases lower than the market price at the time...

The FSMA has published a Communication on the entry into force of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 supplementing the SFDR with regulatory technical standards. The Communication takes the form of Q&As and covers, for example, the content and presentation of the information relating to the promotion of environmental or social characteristics and objectives for sustainable investments in precontractual documents, on websites and in periodic reports. These Q&As bring together the clarifications published by the European Commission and the European Supervisory Authorities on the subject and sets out the FSMA’s expectations in this regard. Read more in Communication...

One of the tasks entrusted to the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is to combat unlawful activities in the area of financial investments. Since last July, it has been publishing a quarterly dashboard that provides statistics and an overview of the main trends regarding investment fraud. Today, it is publishing the dashboard for the fourth quarter of 2022, which will also include the figures for the whole year 2022. This edition of the dashboard focuses on the following items: “Recovery room” fraud is increasing. The FSMA wishes to draw the attention of the public to this type of fraud, which...

Jean-Paul Servais, Chairman of the FSMA and of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), gave an online talk at the Asian Financial Forum held in Hong Kong on 11 and 12 January 2023. The event brought together global leaders in government, finance and business to share ideas and information. Each year, the Asian Financial Forum gathers thousands of participants from numerous countries around the world. During his online speech, Jean-Paul Servais notably elaborated on the challenges facing the global financial sector and the role played by IOSCO in this area. He went on to underline IOSCO’s priorities for 2023: sustainable finance and mitigating...

The agreed settlement provides for the payment of an amount of EUR 29,958 and a nominative publication on the website of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) for a period of three months. This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site. This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please see the Source Link.

This Q&A section contains a number of questions specifically related to the impact of the energy crisis on supplementary pensions and the associated death cover. The government measures are also explained. This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please see the Source Link.

The principal activity of a regulated real estate investment company (GVV/SIR) is making properties available to occupants. This is an operational activity and not an investment activity. The question therefore arose as to whether the units held by a GVV/SIR in entities that are not AIFs within the meaning of the AIFM Directive but explicitly opted for the status of specialised property investment fund, could still qualify as shares or units with voting rights issued by real estate investment companies. In that case, these participations would not be limited by the 20% threshold provided for in Article 7, § 1,...

As from 1 January 2023, Belgian insurance companies will be required to provide pre-contractual information for SFDR Article 8 and 9 financial products. These companies should indicate in template pre-contractual disclosures whether they make investments in economic activities that qualify as environmentally sustainable under the EU Taxonomy. As reports prepared by issuers under the Taxonomy Regulation will not yet be available on 1 January 2023, the FSMA wishes to prevent the companies from mentioning in those templates that they make investments in economic activities that qualify as environmentally sustainable under the EU Taxonomy. By doing so, the FSMA aims at...

The agreed settlement provides for the payment of an amount of EUR 34,149 and a nominative publication on the website of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) for a period of three months. This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site. This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please see the Source Link.

The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is warning the public about the activities of Findelbank, which irregularly offers financial services and credit in Belgium. Findelbank is falsely using an existing Belgian address to offer financial services and credit to consumers. Moreover, Findelbank is not licensed to offer financial services and products and credit in Belgium. For all these reasons, the FSMA therefore advises against accepting offers from Findelbank. More information on investment and credit fraud can be found on the FSMA's website. This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please...

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY, PUBLISHED IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 78 OF THE LAW OF 21 NOVEMBER 2017 Trading in the financial instruments of DMS Imaging, ISIN BE0974289218 on Euronext Brussels will re-open on 21/12/2022 at 11:00 CET. This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please see the Source Link.