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Malta Stock Exchange to Launch the MSE Green Market

The Malta Stock Exchange announced that the MFSA has approved the Bye-Laws for the establishment of an MSE Green Market, allowing for the listing of Green Bonds on the local capital markets. Issuers seeking to raise finance for green projects must meet the MSE’s Green List criteria (based on the International Capital Markets Association’s Green…

Implementation of SFDR – The MFSA establishes a fast-track process

The SFDR requires financial market participants and financial advisers to make pre-contractual disclosures to investors on how they integrate ESG factors in their risk and decision-making processes. Amongst other participants, the SFDR will require AIFMs, UCITS management companies and MiFID firms managing third-party funds to ensure that adequate disclosures are included in offering documentation of…

GDPR: What is the situation following the Brexit Deal?

Marking the completion of Brexit, the 31st of December 2020 saw the end of the 11-month transition period wherein the UK was still bound by the EU’s rules and therefore the GDPR and EU privacy laws continued to apply in the UK. This meant that transmissions of data from the EEA to the UK were…

The Housing (Decontrol) Ordinance of 1959 and its Unconstitutionality

The Housing (Decontrol) Ordinance of 1959 has been the subject of debate for its infamous legal provisions for the past years, so much so that its provisions, specifically article 12, have been repeatedly declared to be in violation of fundamental human rights by both the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Notwithstanding…

Brexit and its impact on jurisdiction, choice of law and enforcement: How does it affect you?

Malta and the UK share a long and colorful history, with Malta having been a British colony for one hundred and fifty years. Whilst Brexit will undoubtedly impact all the remaining twenty-seven Member States of the European Union, Malta is no exception, particularly given the close economic ties between the two. Ever since the United…

Brexit: The effects on EU Trademarks

As the transition period agreed to by the European Union and United Kingdom by virtue of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement came to an end on the 31st December 2020, the UK is today considered to be a third-country, as it marks the completion of Brexit. This has inevitably brought about a multitude of effects within…

ESMA issues public statement on third-country firms marketing in the EU

The European Securities and Markets Authority (‘ESMA’) has, on the 13th January 2021, issued a public statement to remind firms of the MiFID II requirements on the provision of investment services to retail and professional clients by third country investment firms. According to MiFID II, a third country firm may provide investment services to EU-based…

The Aftermath of Brexit on the Financial Services Sector

On the 24th December 2020, just before the lapse of the transition period, the UK and EU successfully reached a trade deal, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Brexit deal has left a great deal of uncertainties, particularly in relation to financial services matters, which may lead to significant implications for the financial services sector…

COVID-19: Wage Supplement Scheme 2021

As the spread of COVID-19 continues to dominate, a revised wage supplement scheme was announced on the 5th January 2021 during a press conference addressed by the Minister for Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli and the head of Malta Enterprise Kurt Farrugia. Unlike the previous wage supplement scheme introduced in March 2020, this scheme which…

MFSA Issues Circular on Brexit Readiness

On the 18th of November 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (‘MFSA’) issued a circular outlining its expectations following the end of the Brexit transition period on the 31st December 2020. The latter allowed entities and firms to continue building their preparatory work and facilitate an orderly withdrawal from the European Union. In view that…