MFSA Issues Consultation Document on Malta Company Services Providers Rules

Further to the recent introduction of the Company Service Providers Act, the MFSA has issued a consultation document proposing detailed rules which clarify and implement the provisions of the Act. This is a useful and welcome step, and one which will lend further clarity to an Act which has already been broadly welcome by service providers in Malta. We have uploaded a more detailed overview of the proposed rules on our website here: Malta Company Service Providers Consultation Overview

The proposed rules should not contain too many surprises for established and complaint service providers, and well established providers are not expected to experience major difficulties in complying. While the rules do introduce introduce an additional layer of documentation and reporting which will be novel to service providers, this is counterbalanced by the benefit resulting from the introduction of a level playing field in the sector.

The application process is premised on common regulatory procedures centered around fitness and properness, capital adequacy and proper documentation. Our financial services regulatory team has handled various such processes in the context of other regulated areas (such as investment services, funds and financial institutions) and is currently advising a number of CSPs with respect to their prospective applications.

We are also currently preparing a detailed brief providing a summary and analysis of the Act and the rules, which we will be uploading shortly on ccmalta.com 

Dr Charles Cassar

Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates

Malta Financial Services Lawyer