Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 11 2025

AIFMD ESMA Publishes Implementing Rules on Loan-originating AIFs On 21 October 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on open-ended loan-originating AIFs (OE LO AIFs). ESMA says that the draft rules determine the requirements with which loan-originating AIFs must comply to maintain an open-ended structure. Those requirements include a sound liquidity management system, the availability of liquid assets and stress testing, as well as an appropriate redemption policy having regard to the liquidity profile of OE LO AIFs. ESMA states that the RTS also set out a list of factors Alternative Investment Fund Managers shall consider in determining the redemption policy and assessing the liquidity of OE LO AIFs. The draft RTS were mandated under the AIFMD and ESMA says that it has submitted them to the European Commission (EC) for adoption. ESMA draws stakeholders’ attention to the inclusion of these RTS on the list of the non-essential Level 2 Acts that the EC will not adopt before 1 October 2027 at the earliest. Link to Draft RTS here Link to EC De-prioritisation of Level II Acts Letter and Annex CBDC EurosystemMoving to Next Phase of Digital Euro Project On 30 October 2025, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced in a press release that it had decided to move to the next phase of the digital euro project. This decision follows the successful completion of the preparation phase, launched by the Eurosystem in November 2023, which laid the foundations for issuing a digital euro. The ECB says that its Governing Council‘s final decision on whether to issue a digital euro, and on what date, will only be taken once the legislation has been adopted. Under the assumption that European co-legislators will adopt the Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro in the course of 2026, a pilot exercise and initial transactions could take place as of mid-2027. The ECB says that the whole Eurosystem should then be ready for a potential first issuance of the digital euro during 2029. Along with the Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro, the ECB is also supporting the European Commission’s proposal to reinforce the right to pay with cash. The Eurosystemwill focus on three main areas: • Technical readiness: developing the digital euro’s technical foundations, including initial system set-up and piloting; Investor Services Bite-Sized Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services QUICK LINKS Issue 11 | 2025 AIFMD CBDC CRYPTOASSETS DIGITAL ASSETS FINTECH FSB MIFID/MIFIR (UK) IFR/IFD OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE OUTSOURCING SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG T+1 TOKENISATION ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE NETHERLANDS NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM