Edit: In light of the postponement for Brexit “exit day” to 31 January 2020 the CSSF has seen fit to postpone its submission date until 15 January 2020.
(Original Title: 15 September CSSF Notification Deadline is Fast Approaching)
In view of a potential no-deal Brexit, the Luxembourg Regulator (the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (“CSSF”) has adopted two laws that introduce measures aimed to mitigate its potential impact on companies in the financial sector. The outcome of the now coined “Brexit Laws” is the CSSF Notification portal via which financial firms need to submit their application, to continue their activities as part of a 12-month transitional period after a no-deal Brexit
UK MiFID, payment institutions, UCITS ManCos and AIFMS if they have not already must act now to ensure continutity. The CSSF will look at these notifications on a case-by-case basis and confirm their approval before the 31 October. UK firms that have not submitted a notification will have to cease all business if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on that date.
Further to this, aspects of the actual application process are not as straightforward as some would think and require quite a bit of consideration to complete. Notably the CSSF requires that applicants submit a contingency plan for after the 12-month transitional period expires. This requires many firms who are taking a ‘wait-and-see’ style approach to Brexit to think more long term if they wish to continue conducting regulated business in Luxembourg. It also means you need a service provider at the ready to step in which means discussions and potential agreements (although those are not required the full explanations you give should be supported at least by actual facts).
Laven’s related company in Luxembourg, Lumen Distribution, has been established to support distribution activities and can be included in any CSSF filing for that purpose with our agreement. Our partner firm Fuchs with a UCITS manco and an AIFM may also be a good idea to include, however, again this does mean or presume that conversations are already in place. The deadline is Sunday, and you may be able to at the least fill in what you can with the idea of supplementing the application if you are not sufficiently ready, but to keep your foot in the door.
If you would like to speak with the Brexit team please do not hesitate to get in touch via email [email protected] or call us on +44 (0)20 7838 0010.
