Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 2 2026

15 QUICK LINKS AIFMD BENCHMARKS REGULATION CRYPTOASSETS FINTECH FUND LIQUIDITY MIFID II/MIFIR MONEY MARKET FUNDS OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG T+1 ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 2 | 2026 The HKMA said that, recognising this importance, it conducts regular reviews of AIs’ operational risk management in respect of their trading activities, with a focus on the relevant governance arrangements, oversight mechanisms, and monitoring and control processes. The HKMA said that AIs have generally put in place effective frameworks for managing the risk, with some good practices worth sharing with the industry. Good practices as well as key observations on the approaches adopted by the reviewed AIs are summarised in the Annex to the Circular. The HKMA said that AIs are expected to review from time to time their operational risk management for trading activities, giving due consideration to these good practices and observations, and take steps to strengthen risk management practices and control frameworks as appropriate. Link to the Circular and Annex here EUROPE ESMA’s Digital and Data Strategies On 13 January 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) adopted a new Digital Strategy and updated its Data Strategy. ESMA said that they reflect its commitment to smarter regulatory reporting and technology-driven supervision, promote synergies and innovation while reducing unnecessary complexity. ESMA said the digital strategy aims to continue its digital transformation, while the Data Strategy update is oriented to capitalise on opportunities to simplify, better integrate and streamline data management and technology. The new Digital Strategy 2026–2028 sets out a roadmap for innovation, efficiency, and resilience. The key objectives include: • Building EU digital synergies; • Enhancing digital capabilities of ESMA and the European System of Financial Supervision; • Bolstering operational efficiency; and • Establishing a secure and future-ready ecosystem. ESMA’s Data Strategy 2023–2028 has been updated to reflect the focus on burden reduction, the evolving technological landscape, and ESMA’s desire for unlocking efficiency opportunities. While its key objectives remain the same, the key new actions include: • Initiatives related to streamlining supervisory reporting, relating to transaction data and in the funds domain; • Expanding the capacity of the ESMA Data Platform to benefit national and European authorities; • Implementing next phases of the MiCA joint supervisory tool for crypto-market monitoring; and • Finalising the development of the European Single Access Point. ESMA said that these goals are in line with its wider simplification and burden reduction initiative launched last year. Link to the Digital Strategy here Link to Data Strategy here