Public consultation on the exercise of the national discretions in Directive (EU) 2024/927

Public consultation on the exercise of the national discretions in Directive (EU) 2024/927 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 amending Directives 2011/61/EU and 2009/65/EC as regards delegation arrangements, liquidity risk management, supervisory reporting, the provision of depositary and custody services and loan origination by alternative investment funds

In June 2020, the European Commission presented a report on the functioning and scope of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (Directive 2011/61/EC), also referred to as the AIFMD, to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. While the AIFMD had largely achieved its objectives, the European Commission’s assessment concluded that the Directive could benefit from improvements in areas that were either not sufficiently addressed in 2011 or that had evolved considerably since that time.

As a number of issues highlighted in the AIFMD review were considered to be equally relevant for the activities of undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), Directive (EU) 2024/927 amends both the AIFMD and the UCITS Directive (Directive 2009/65/EC).

While the majority of the provisions in Directive (EU) 2024/927 will be transposed on a fully harmonised basis, there are a number of national discretions where each Member State has discretion on the application of the provision in question. The Department of Finance now invites interested parties to make submissions in relation to the exercise of the following national discretions in Directive (EU) 2024/927:

• Extending the list of ancillary activities and services that may be provided by an external Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM);
• Prohibiting Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) that originate loans from granting loans to consumers in Ireland;
• Permitting the national competent authority to allow the appointment of a depositary established in another Member State, on receipt of a reasoned request from an AIFM and subject to strict conditions; and
• Extending the list of ancillary activities and services that may be provided by a UCITS management company.

The Department also welcomes views in relation to other elements of the transposition.

Submissions received in response to this public consultation will be taken into consideration when deciding how best to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/927 into Irish law.

Consultation Period

The consultation period will run until 17 January 2025. Submissions received after this deadline may not be considered.

How to Respond

If you wish to respond to this consultation, submissions can be made through the Department of Finance consultation portal - https://consult.finance.gov.ie

Freedom of Information

Responses to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014. Parties should also note that responses to the consultation may be published on the Department’s website.