European Passport Rights for Investment Firms

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta Nru. 20,269, 24 ta’ Settembru, 2019

Taqsima B

L.N. 243 of 2019

INVESTMENT SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 370)

European Passport Rights for Investment Firms

(Amendment) Regulations, 2019

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 12 of the

Investment Services Act, the Minister responsible for the regulation of

Financial Services, acting on the advice of the Malta Financial

Services Authority, has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the European Passport Citation and

Rights for Investment Firms (Amendment) Regulations, 2019 and they commencement.

shall be read and construed as one with the European Passport Rights S.L. 370.10

for Investment Firms Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the

principal regulations".

(2) These regulations, with the exception of regulation 2, and

of regulation 15(4) in regulation 3, shall enter into force on such date

as the Minister may by notice in the Gazette establish.

Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the principal Amends

regulation 2 of

regulations shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) immediately after the definition "MiFID", there shall

be added the following new definition

" "no-deal Brexit date" means the date on which the

United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a

withdrawal deal;"; and

(b) immediately after the definition "the Treaty", there

shall be added the following new definitions

" "UK investment firms" means investment firms as

defined in Article 4(1) of MiFID that are authorised by the

respective regulatory authorities of the United Kingdom

within the meaning of Article 5 of MiFID, that are

exercising a European right to provide services in Malta on

a cross border basis, but shall exclude the European right to

establish a branch in Malta;

"United Kingdom" means the territories of England,

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, for the purposes of

these regulations, shall also include Gibraltar.".

Immediately after regulation 14 of the principal

regulations, there shall be added the following new Part VI

"Part VI

Temporary Permission Regime for UK Investment

Firms Passporting Into Malta Through Freedom of

Services

(1) Subject to the provisions of these

permission granted

regulations and provided the conditions stipulated in

investment firms to this regulation are satisfied, the competent authority

continue servicing shall grant a temporary permission to UK investment

firms allowing them to continue servicing existing

contracts with existing clients. Such firms shall for the

purposes of these regulations continue to be treated as

European investment firms providing services in Malta.

(2) In order to avail themselves of the

temporary permission regime provided for in this

regulation, UK investment firms must already be

exercising a European right to provide services in Malta

on a cross-border basis under these regulations, prior to

the no-deal Brexit date.

(3) UK investment firms which have been

granted a temporary permission under this regulation

shall only be permitted to service those contracts with

clients that were entered into by not later than 30

September 2019.

(4) UK investment firms wishing to avail

themselves of the temporary permission regime are

required to notify the competent authority on the

appropriate form issued by the said competent

authority, stating their intention to benefit from this

regime. This form shall be submitted to the competent

authority by not later than three weeks from the no-deal

Brexit date.

(5) (a) The temporary permission granted

under the temporary permission regime shall be valid

until the 31 March 2020.

(b) UK investment firms shall, until the 31

March 2020, be exempt from the provisions of

article 3 of the Act provided that those UK

investment firms are in possession of a temporary

permission by the competent authority.

(c) As from 1 April 2020, such UK

investment firms shall be treated as third country

firms in terms of the Investment Services Act

(Provision of Investment Services and Activities

by Third-County Firms) Regulations.".

B

€0.18