Presented by Dr. André Zerafa – Managing Partner, Ganado Advocates

Dr. André Zerafa gave a high-level overview of a number of regulatory proposals put forward by the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council (the ‘MFSAC’) with a view to making Malta’s asset management sector more effective and competitive – these included:

• the establishment of a new fund framework, the so called Notified Professional Investor Fund (‘NPIF’), which is expected to be introduced in the last quarter of 2023;
• the introduction of a limited liability partnership structure without legal personality into Maltese law;
• a dedicated regulatory regime for Family Offices; and
• the development and introduction of a Funds Act.
   

How can we help?

Deloitte Malta is following the developments with the said proposals. We invite you to reach out to us should any of these be of interest to you.

Presented by David Herrera – Risk Advisory Director, Deloitte

Mr. David Herrera provided a general overview of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’ or the ‘Regulation’) and commented on the interplay between the Regulation and other sustainability reporting regulations (e.g., the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (‘CSRD’)).

The presentation addressed the key requirements emanating from the Regulation with a particular focus on the different disclosure obligations (i.e., entity-level disclosures and product-level disclosures) and the different classifications of financial products under the SFDR (i.e., ‘Article 6’, ‘Article 8’ and ‘Article 9’ products).

How can we help?

With a variety of regulatory/industry experts and experienced professionals, Deloitte can assist with managing your ESG strategy, risk and compliance from inception to completion and can provide you with strong ESG policies tailored to your business operations.

Please reach out should you wish to learn more about Deloitte Malta’s ESG Advisory Services.

Moderator: Michael Bianchi – Audit & Assurance Director, Deloitte

Victoria Gillespie – Head of ESG, Alter Domus

Paul Falzon – Senior Regulatory Advisor, Ganado Advocates

Ryan Borg – Deputy Counsel, EU and International Affairs

Kevin Polidano – Risk Manager, Andurand Capital Management

During the panel discussion, panelists discussed the impacts on the industry caused by various sustainability-related regulations and the potential challenges expected to be faced by asset managers when incorporating ESG considerations into decision-making processes. Panelists addressed the risk of greenwashing in current market practices and shared their views on the proposed EU Green Bond Regulation.

How can we help?

With a variety of regulatory/industry experts and experienced professionals, Deloitte can assist with managing your ESG strategy, risk and compliance from inception to completion and can provide you with strong ESG policies tailored to your business operations.

Please reach out should you wish to learn more about Deloitte Malta’s ESG Advisory Services.

Moderator: Przemyslaw Koger – Country Executive Malta, Alter Domus

Mark Caruana Scicluna - Senior Associate, Ganado Advocates

Matthew Booker – Manager, Deloitte

Giulia Gaddari – Senior Manager, MFSA

Peter Sartogo – Managing Partner, GWM Asset Management

During the panel discussion, panelists discussed recent regulatory developments in the asset management sector both locally and at an EU level, with a particular focus on the NPIF Framework (as mentioned above); the Digital Operational Resilience Act (‘DORA’), a forward-looking EU Regulation addressing cyber security risks in a digitalised financial services sector, and the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (‘MiCA’), which is set to bring within scope asset managers dealing in crypto assets and provide for a harmonised framework within the EU.

How can we help?

We invite you to reach out to us should you require any additional information or assistance with regard to any of the regulatory developments discussed, including in particular:

• The NPIF Framework;
• DORA; and
• MiCA.

Dr. Conrad Cassar Torregiani – Tax Leader, Deloitte

Expanding on Dr. André Zerafa’s presentation, Dr. Conrad Cassar Torregiani as part of the MFSAC’s tax working group further elaborated on the above MFSAC proposals and stressed on the importance of taxation as a support mechanism to drive the effective implementation of the said proposals.

He further discussed certain recent local and global developments in taxation, such as:

i) the proposed ‘Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT)’, a proposal by the EU Commission to consolidate the tax base of companies across the EU, and its coherence with the global minimum tax (Pillar 2) rules;

ii) the enactment of transfer pricing regulations in Malta and the proposed EU Transfer Pricing Directive (‘TPD’), which will impact domestic transfer pricing rules across the EU; and

iii) the proposal for ‘ATAD 3: The Unshell Directive’.

How can we help?

Further to the MFSAC Strategy and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration’s Delivering Transformation Strategic Plan for 2023 to 2025, we are supporting clients with enhancing efficiencies in compliance and reporting, in the context of the bigger picture fiscal developments that are shaping Malta and the EU’s tax landscape today. We also support clients with understanding the envisaged complexities and implications with a view to enable effective contingency planning and preparation.

In particular, our tax team is currently assisting a number of fund and asset management structures with assessments on alignment with the minimum substance indicators envisaged in the proposed UnShell Directive which are already being identified as best practice minimum standards to evidence the commercial rationale of operations within the EU.

We are also assisting with various assessments on related party transactions in light of the application of Maltese transfer pricing rules as of 1 January 2024, while keeping tabs on the development of the proposed TPD.

Moderator: James Farrugia – Partner, Ganado Advocates

Ian Coppini – Risk Advisory Leader, Deloitte

Andrzej Tabero – Head of Legal and Company Secretary Services, Alter Domus

Doreen Balzan – Head of Investment Services Supervision, MFSA

Marcel Cassar – CEO, APS Bank

During the panel discussion, panelists highlighted the continuous evolution of businesses, albeit as a required response to an onslaught of disruption, new business models, and technology. This continuous change affects business operations at all levels, with customers demanding real-time interactions, regulators applying increasing levels of scrutiny, and governance stakeholders requiring assurance in this complex and dynamic risk environment. The result has exposed weaknesses in the traditional three lines model framework. Panelists expressed the view that business models will continue to change dramatically in the years to come, and business leaders must be focused on aggressively seeking out opportunities to innovate within the rapidly changing and increasing landscape of risks. With a landscape becoming more complex and fast-moving it is critical for organisations to identify and respond to current and emerging risks quickly and effectively and it is expected that internal audit (IA) should and will play a key role in this evolution.

How can we help?

Regardless of your industry, business model and size, Deloitte can provide:

• Internal Audit Outsourcing - Would you like to have all the value and capabilities of an IA function, without setting up a dedicated in-house team?

• Internal Audit Co-Sourcing - Would you like to partner with a trusted and reputable institution to give greater value and capabilities to your in-house IA function?

• Internal Audit Advisory - With a full range of outsourcing, co-sourcing, technology and data analytics services we enable Internal Audit teams to deliver assurance, advise on critical business issues and anticipate risks.