Legal Updates

On the 1st of September 2023, Legal Notice 208 of 2023 was published in the Supplement to the Government Gazette by the title of the Financial Collateral Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Amendment Regulations”). The scope of these Amendment Regulations is to transpose the contents of article 89 of EU Regulation 2021/23 on a framework for the recovery and resolution of central counterparties, which provision amended  Directive 2002/47/EC on financial arrangements. The Amendment Regulations amend the principal regulations, the Financial Collateral Arrangements Regulations, Subsidiary Legislation 459.01. Among the amendments introduced by the Amendment Regulations are the introduction…

On the 9th of August 2023 the MFSA published a circular regarding the Observations from Supervisory Inspections held with Issuers on the Prevention of Financial Market Abuse. Since 2018, the MFSA has been conducting onsite compliance meetings with issuers whose financial instruments are traded on a Maltese trading venue, relating to the Market Abuse Regulation (hereinafter referred to as ‘MAR’). The aim of this was to ensure proper implementation of the MAR.  After conducting numerous onsite compliance meetings, the Authority released a circular on the 16th of March 2020, to communicate the overall findings derived from these meetings. Three years…

The MFSA published a Circular on the 13th  of July 2023 regarding a Public Statement issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (hereinafter referred to as “ESMA”) outlining sustainability disclosure expectations in prospectuses. This was addressed to issuers and their advisory teams in the process of drawing up prospectuses. The statement aims to coordinate national authorities' review of sustainability disclosures in prospectuses, inform issuers and advisors about expected disclosures and enhance investor decisions by emphasizing sustainability-related disclosures. On the 14th of July 2023, the Crowdfunding Service Provider Act (Act No. XXV of 2023) was enacted. The purpose of this act…

On the 12th of June 2023, an Act to amend the Gaming Act (Chapter 583 of the Laws of Malta) was passed by the House of Representatives, which introduced article 56A to the Gaming Act in order to encourage the establishment of gaming operators in Malta who offer local and cross-border supply of services. On the 16th of June 2023, the MFSA published a Feedback Statement on the new Publication Policy, together with the Policy. Click   for an overview of the Publication Policy. The MFSA published a Circular on the 21st of June 2023 by way of an update…