Harneys continues to monitor developments related to the EU's AIFMD with a focus on how it will affect our clients in the Cayman Islands and BVI. The most significant recent development is that the AIFMD Level 2 Regulation has now been adopted by the European Commission.
The next stage in the process of enactment is that the Level 2 text will be submitted to the European Parliament and Council and a 3-month period of review and debate by each of the Parliament and Council will follow. The current estimate from industry sources is that the Regulation will enter into force around the end of the third quarter of 2013. When brought into force the Regulation will have the force of law in each EU Member State; enactment by the law making body in individual member states will not be required.
From the perspective of the offshore centres it is important to note that the current form of the Regulation is considerably less restrictive on the issue of "third countries". There has been a favourable rewording of the relevant sections to allow for a greater degree of flexibility in the drafting of the cooperation agreements which are to be entered into between Member States and the offshore centres as third countries in order to allow for the national private placement regimes in each Member State to continue to be relied upon and also in the treatment of the allowable extent to which delegation of services can be made to institutions located in third countries.
Harneys will continue to monitor developments and will update our clients with relevant information when it is available.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
