CySEC – Circular 433 

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Circular 433 on the 16th of March 2021, with subject of (Requirements of the Portuguese Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘CMVM’) regarding the appointment of tied agents in the territory of Portugal), which hereby draws the attention of the Cyprus Investment Firms (the ‘CIFs’), which intend to appoint Tied Agents to offer their services in the territory of Portugal, to CMVM’s regulatory rules regarding the persons that are allowed to provide such services.

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FSA Seychelles – Circular No 3 of 2021  

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles has issued the Circular No. 3 on the 5th of March 2021, with subject of (Acceptance of digitally signed documents) and the aim of notifying all stakeholders of the Financial Services Authority’s (the Authority) acceptance of electronic documents that have been digitally signed and should be read in conjunction with the previously issued Circular No.13 of 2020 which outlines the current framework for authentication and acceptance of digital signatures.

In line with the Electronic Transactions Act, 2001 and the Electronic Transactions (Affixing of Digital Signature) Regulations, 2018, the Authority has taken a policy decision to accept only documents which are digitally signed using digital certificates issued by certifying authorities from DocuSign. The principal reason for such stems from an assured validation process which provides additional security to the Authority. 

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CySEC – Circular 432

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Circular 432 on the 16th of March 2021, with subject of (Opinion of the European Banking Authority on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the European Union’s financial sector), which relates to the following Regulated Entities:

1. CIFs
2. ASPs
3. UCITS Management Companies
4. Internally managed UCITS
5. AIFMs
6. Internally managed AIFs
7. Internally managed AIFLNPs
8. Companies with sole purpose the management of AIFLNPs

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FCA UK – Brexit Countdown for UK financial services sector
 

Issued on 24 December 2020 

With one week to go until the end of the Brexit transition period, the FCA is urging financial services companies to ensure they are ready. Customers should also be aware of any changes that may apply to them. Irrespective of the outcome of the negotiations between the UK and the EU on a free trade agreement, firms will need to be prepared for the end of the transition period.

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FSA Seychelles – Circular No 13 of 2020  

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles has issued the Circular No 13 on the 13th of October 2020, with subject of (Acceptance of digitally signed documents) and the aim of notifying all stakeholders of the Financial Services Authority’s (“the Authority”) acceptance of electronic documents that have been digitally signed, in accordance with the Seychelles’ legislations.

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CySEC – Circular 419 – Regulation (EU) No 2017/2402

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Circular 419 on 2^nd of December 2020, with subject of (Regulation (EU) No 2017/2402 on creating a single framework for simple, transparent and standarised securitisation), which relates to the following Regulated Entities:

1. Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs)
2. Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs)
3. UCITS and UCITS management companies
4. Third party certification service providers
5. Securitisation Special Purpose Entities (SSPEs)1

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CySEC – Circular 416 

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Circular 416 on 10^th of November 2020, with subject of (Business relationship with persons who have acquired Cypriot citizenship under the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP)), which relates to the following Regulated Entities: 

1. CIFs
2. ASPs
3. UCITS Management Companies
4. Internally managed UCITS
5. AIFMs
6. Internally managed AIFs
7. Internally managed AIFLNPs
8. Companies with sole purpose the management of AIFLNPs

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CySEC – Circular 410

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Circular 410 on 26^th of October 2020, with subject of (Information to be submitted on the basis of the ESAs Joint Guidelines on Cooperation and Information Exchange between the Supervisory Authorities of Credit and Financial Institutions – (the ‘’AML / CFT Colleges Guidelines”)), which relates to the following Regulated Entities: 

1. Cyprus Investment Firms (‘CIFs’)
2. Branches of Investment Firms, located in Cyprus, where their head office is situated in another Member State or in a third country
3. Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (‘UCITS’)
4. UCITS Management Companies (‘UCITS MC’)
5. Alternative Investment Fund Managers (‘AlFMs’)
6. Alternative Investment Funds (‘AIFs’)
7. Alternative Investment Funds with a Limited Number of Persons (‘AIFLNPs’)
8. Companies with sole purpose the management of AIFLNPs

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