Vaduz (ots)

At its meeting on 9 July 2024, the Government adopted several reports and motions on the redesign of the supervisory law governing banks and investment firms.

These reports and motions on a comprehensive revision of the Banking Act (BankG) and the creation of a new Investment Services Act (WPDG), Investment Firms Act (WPFG), and Trading Venues and Exchanges Act (HPBG) constitute a fundamental redesign of the content and system of supervisory law governing banks and investment firms. The goal of the redesign is to reduce the complexity of the legal framework for banks and investment firms and to create a modern framework for the activities of banks, investment firms, and market operators.

A key component of the redesign is the comprehensive revision of the Banking Act. As part of this comprehensive revision, the content of the Banking Act is to be streamlined and will contain only the provisions relating to the prudential, forward-looking supervision of banks. The provisions relating to conduct of business supervision, which banks and investment firms must comply with if they provide investment services, will be spun off into a separate act, the WPDG. The supervisory rules governing operators of regulated markets and other provisions relevant to the capital market will be contained in the HPBG. In addition to the systematic separation of the legal bases for banks, investment firms, and market operators, the Banking Act will be systematically and conceptually adapted to the EEA legal basis for prudential banking supervision.

The WPFG will set out the requirements for investment firms that are not asset management companies under the Asset Management Act (VVG). The WPFG largely represents a transfer of the provisions on investment firms and the MiFID II transposition provisions from the existing Banking Act. It also transposes the Investment Firms Directive [JH1] (IFD), which - together with the Investment Firms Regulation [JH2] (IFR) - now subjects investment firms to an independent supervisory regime adapted to their risk structure.

The HPBG contains comprehensive rules governing market operators of regulated markets - referred to in the law as exchange organisations - that operate a securities exchange. The HPBG will also govern the operation of alternative trading venues such as multilateral and organised trading facilities (MTFs and OTFs), systematic internalisation, and algorithmic trading. These are investment services or trading techniques that can be provided or used by both investment firms and banks as well as exchange organisations. For the first time, Liechtenstein will also establish rules governing admission of financial instruments to a regulated market on a securities exchange as well as supplemental obligations of issuers. In this way, the HPBG will complete and modernise the provisions on trading venues transferred from the Banking Act.

The creation of the WPFG and the HPBG and the comprehensive revision of the Banking Act with the associated spin-off of provisions for investment firms also entail further adjustments to the recently revised Asset Management Act (VVG), in particular adjustments to references. Adjustments will also be entailed by efforts to harmonise the wording of provisions between the VVG and the WPFG. Finally, the VVG will incorporate provisions of MiFID II governing manufacturers as well as provisions transposing Directive 2001/24/EC.

Contact:

Ministry of General Government Affairs and Finance
Simon Biedermann, Secretary General
T +423 236 64 47
simon.biedermann@regierung.li