Financial institutions

Short Reads - Recently, the Dutch bill for the implementation of BRRD II (i.e. Directive (EU) 2014/59 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms, as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/879) in the Netherlands was submitted to Dutch Parliament, where it is currently under debate.

Short Reads - Turbobeleggers nemen veel risico’s en verliezen gemiddeld veel geld. De AFM vindt dat particuliere beleggers onvoldoende beschermd worden tegen de risico’s van turbo’s. De verkoop van turbo’s aan deze beleggers wordt daarom aan banden gelegd. Met ingang van 1 oktober geldt een hefboombeperking, een verplichte risicowaarschuwing en een verbod op handelsbonussen. Daarmee wil de Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) particuliere beleggers beter beschermen tegen de risico’s van turbo’s.

Articles - Recent efforts by the Dutch government to amend the tax treatment of stock option plans are examined by Charlotte Tolman and Michael Molenaars in this article in Tax Notes International. The proposed changes are welcome, but might not solve all liquidity concerns.

Articles - On 6 July 2021 the European Commission adopted the much-awaited decision C(2021) 4858 final (the “Decision”) which provides, in its annex, very useful answers to the questions raised by the European Supervisory Authorities (i.e. the EBA, ESMA and EIOPA) in their letter dated 7 January 2021 on priority issues relating to the application of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR” or “Level 1 requirements”).

Short Reads - Non-Fungible Tokens, widely known as NFTs, have recently gained much attention due to their role in the transfer of digital artworks. The market for NFTs grew from USD 13.5m in the first six months of 2020 to USD 2.5bn in the first half of 2021 and is still growing at an expansive rate. Notwithstanding their increasing popularity in the world of art, NFTs have many potential applications. In this blog Maciek Bednarski, Annemijn Witkam and Roderik Vrolijk explain what NFTs are and describe some of the legal challenges they will bring about.

Articles - Beleggingsfondsen kunnen beleggers beter informeren over duurzaamheid. De informatieverschaffing van fondsen over duurzaamheidsrisico’s en duurzaamheidskenmerken is nog vaak te algemeen, daardoor krijgen beleggers te weinig inzicht in waar ze in investeren. Dat is een van de conclusies van de Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) in een verkennend onderzoek naar de toepassing van de Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Inside Stibbe - We are pleased to announce that our partner Heleen Kersten has been nominated by Wolters Kluwer for appointment to its Supervisory Board. The nomination will be submitted to the Wolters Kluwer Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 21, 2022.

Articles - This article, published in Tax Notes International, examines two recent Dutch proposals, which could have an immediate impact on Dutch and non-Dutch corporate taxpayers and existing national or international structures.