Update BRP Country Manual Products
Liechtenstein
out of Bank’s Country of Establishment (DEF, RO & BT)
| SOURCE OF CHANGES | ANSWERS |
|---|---|
| Law/Regulation | Yes |
| New Position of the Authorities | No |
| Evolution of Expert’s interpretation | No |
Definitions & Concepts, Regulatory Overview and Behaviour Template
Material changes
On 1 February 2025, a new legal framework for the supervision of banks and investment firms entered into force. The aim of the revision is to further align the structure of the laws as well as the basic concepts and as closely as possible with the EEA legal framework (see BRP Alert Liechtenstein 1/2025 for further information).
This new legal framework includes the following:
A revision of the Banking Law with the Act of 5 December 2024 on the Activities and Supervision of Banks, Financial Holding Companies and Mixed Financial Holding Companies (Banking Act; BA (Bankengesetz; BankG) – LR 952.0);
A revision of the law on investment services with the Act of 5 December 2024 on the provision of investment services and the performance of investment activities (Investment Services Act; InvSA (Wertpapierdienstleistungsgesetz; WPDG) – LR 953.13);
The Act of 5 December 2024 on the activity and supervision of investment firms (Investment Firm Act; IFA (Wertpapierfirmengesetz; WPFG) – LR 953.12);
The introduction of a trading venue and stock exchange act with the Act of 5 December 2024 on the Operation and Supervision of Trading Venues and Stock Exchanges (Trading Venue and Stock Exchange Act (Handelsplatz- und Börsegesetz; HPBG) – LR 954.85).
Although the total revision of the financial market laws in Liechtenstein is very extensive, it has only a minor impact on the activities of foreign financial institutions acting in compliance with cross-border rules. One of the relevant changes for third-country service providers concerns the concept of “reverse solicitation”:
Art. 49(2) of the Investment Services Act and Art. 37 of the Asset Management Act now explicitly provide for a “reverse solicitation” exemption for the provision of investment services. Foreign investment firms may therefore provide investment services to Liechtenstein clients, provided that the clients initiate the services exclusively on their own initiative (we note that the wording used in the Act is modelled after Art. 42 MiFID II and include a reservation on group situations).
As part of the complete revision of the Banking Act within the framework of the new concept of financial market law, product intervention is also newly regulated. In accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No. 600/2014, the FMA is authorized to take the supervisory measure of product intervention. For this purpose, the FMA uses the supervisory instrument of the general ruling based on Art. 25 of the Financial Market Supervision Act. As of 1 February 2025, the existing product intervention will no longer be based on Art. 27d bis and Annex 7.5 of the Banking Ordinance, but will remain essentially unchanged in relation to the general ruling related to Binary Options and Contracts for Differences (CFDs).
In this regard, BRP has revised the Country Manuals for Liechtenstein based on the new legal framework accordingly.
Non-material changes
In line with the regulatory changes outlined above, the Country Manual has been reviewed to ensure that the content of all the documents remains accurate and up to date. The changes/modifications are as follows:
The Country Manual Products Behaviour Template (CM P BT) accordingly contains the product intervention measures in relation to Binary Options and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) with reference to the new “General ruling of the Financial Market Authority (FMA) on product intervention measures regarding binary options and financial contracts for difference (CFDs) of 1 February 2025”.
For more information, please contact us: info@brpsa.com
Geneva, April 16th, 2025