Belgium

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.

The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) today published an update of the report on asset management and non-bank financial intermediation in Belgium. This update forms part of both institutions' periodic monitoring of these activities and focuses, inter alia, on the development of non-bank financial intermediation in our country, a €161 billion market. In 2017, the FSMA and the NBB published a first comprehensive report on asset management and shadow banking in Belgium. The fourth update of this report, which includes recent figures and an analysis of national and international developments, is now available. The initial report and...

Good governance arrangements are essential for effectively combating money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT)! In this second issue of the AMLCO newsletter, the FSMA provides details about the latest developments in the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), and in particular about the publication of the EBA Guidelines on the role, tasks and responsibilities of AML compliance officers (known as ‘AMLCOs’). The FSMA offers a recapitulation of the legal framework, provides general explanations of the EBA guidelines and clarifies its expectations regarding the role of the senior management, the senior manager responsible for AML/CFT and the AMLCO. Read more in our...

King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland founded in 2004 the Accounting For Sustainability (A4S) organization with a view to developing modern reporting standards that can rise to the challenges of the 21st century, chiefly as regards developing towards more sustainable finance. Every year, it holds a Summit that gathers a large number of participants from the global financial community to explore trends and the concrete actions that can be taken to build a resilient, sustainable economy. On 13, 14 and 15 December 2022, A4S held its 2022 Summit. On Tuesday, 13 December, Jean-Paul Servais, Chairman of...

The FSMA warns the public against Validus, a platform situated abroad which is selling training in Belgium intended to teach people to trade in complex financial instruments such as forex derivatives. Anyone who signs up for such training, is given access to instructional videos, webinars and live chat sessions with all sorts of information about how the forex market works. They explain what forex derivatives are, how exactly you can trade in them, what type of orders you can place and what software you can download for the purpose. The message is that forex trading offers opportunities on condition that...

In 2022, EIOPA (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) carried out a stress test covering pension funds from 18 countries with material IORP sectors. The exercise tested for the first time the resilience of the European IORP sector against a climate change scenario. 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 FSMA participated on Saturday, 3 December in Finance Avenue, the annual investors’ fair in Brussels organized by the newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo. The FSMA was present with its own stand, which attracted several hundred visitors. Read more in French or Dutch This news item was originally published by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA BE). For more information, please see the Source Link.