Credit: this story was first seen on JD Supra
In early August 2019, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the “CSSF”), Luxembourg’s Supervisory Authority of the Financial Sector, published a press release confirming the opening of the Transitional Regime Portal (“TRP”) in case of a ‘no deal’ / ‘hard’ Brexit. The TRP allows UK firms that currently use a financial services passport to operate in Luxembourg, “to benefit from a one year Luxembourg transitional regime in the event of the UK leaving the EU on 31 October 2019 without a withdrawal agreement.
Currently, UK firms can continue cross-border services in Luxembourg under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (“MIFID”). Should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019, the UK would become a “third-country”, and as such, would not be a member of the European Economic Area (“EEA”), and would not be able to provide services in any EEA Member States anymore.
Luxembourg’s solution to this scenario is the TRP.
To benefit from the Luxembourg transitional regime, UK firms are required to notify the CSSF via a dedicated online portal on the CSSF website by 15 September 2019. Upon receipt of the notification, the CSSF will confirm whether or not the UK firm is granted the transitional relief.
Entities that have not submitted a notification through the eDesk portal by 15 September 2019 will not be entitled to benefit from the transitional regime and will have to cease all business as of the date of a no-deal Brexit.
The TRP remains open until 15 September 2019.
