Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 4 2025

BENCHMARKS REGULATION European Council Adopts Financial Benchmarks Regulation to Ease Burden on SMEs On 24 March 2025, the European Council (the Council) adopted a regulation on financial benchmarks with the aim of reducing red tape for EU companies, particularly SMEs. This legislation amends a regulation from 2016 regarding the scope of the rules for benchmarks, the use of benchmarks provided by administrators located in third countries, and certain reporting requirements. Main elements of the amended benchmarks regulation: • Reduced regulatory burden on administrators of benchmarks defined as non-significant in the EU by removing them from the scope of the legislation; • Only critical or significant benchmarks remain within the scope of the new regulation; • Administrators outside the scope of the rules will be able to request the voluntary application of the rules (opt-in), under certain conditions; • Extended competence for the European Securities and Markets Authority; • Administrators of EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks must be registered, authorised, recognised, or endorsed to ensure regulatory oversight and prevent misleading ESG claims; and • A specific exemption regime for spot foreign exchange benchmarks. The regulation now needs to be adopted by the European Parliament at second reading before it can be published in the Official Journal and enter into force. The application date of the regulation is 1 January 2026. Link to Regulation on Financial Benchmarks here CMU/SIU Commission Unveils SIU Strategy to Enhance Financial Opportunities for EU Citizens and Businesses On 19 March 2025, the European Commission (Commission) adopted its strategy for the Savings and Investments Union (SIU), which it says seeks to offer EU citizens broader access to capital markets and better financing options for companies. The Commission says that delivering the SIU is a shared responsibility of EU institutions, Member States and all key stakeholders, requiring concerted efforts and close collaboration across four strands of work: Investor Services Bite-Sized Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services QUICK LINKS Issue 4 | 2025 BENCHMARKSREGULATION CMU/SIU DORA FINTECH IOSCO MIFID II/MIFIR SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM