knowledge 21 February 2023 |

Central Bank confirms details of filing process for SFDR RTS disclosures

On 20 February 2023, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “CBI”) issued a notice entitled: ‘Process clarifications for UCITS and AIFs pre-contractual documentation updates in relation to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363’ (the “Notice”) here.

Background

On 17 February 2023, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363 (here) which amends the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation regulatory technical standards (the “SFDR RTS”) was published in the Official Journal and took effect on 20 February 2023. This Delegated Regulation provides for gas and nuclear disclosures and introduces some minor amendments to the SFDR RTS.

The Notice

The Notice details the CBI’s streamlined filing process to facilitate updates to pre-contractual documentation required as a result of the entry into force of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363.

In addition to filing updated documentation, a ‘Responsible Person’1 in a UCITS or AIF will be required to certify that:

“the amendments made are in accordance with:

  • The Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363;
  • SFDR Level 1, SFDR Level 2 and/or the Taxonomy Regulation; and
  • Any amendments made to the investment policy / strategy are only to allow consistency with the disclosure changes referenced above.”

The CBI confirms that the above attestation should make it clear that the revised documentation does not contain any other amendments. The above attestation along with the revised final dated documentation is required to be submitted to the dedicated mailbox SFDR@centralbank.ie as soon as possible. The CBI confirms that documentation should be dated the date they are submitted.

Next Steps

The Notice states that filings should be submitted as soon as possible and at the earliest available opportunity and that the streamlined filing process will be time limited. Any fund which is not authorised prior to 20 February 2023 will need to comply with the amendments introduced by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363.

The CBI confirms that it will keep the submission of revised documentation under review and the streamlined process will be time limited.

  1. The CBI states that a Responsible Person of a UCITS is the UCITS management company or the UCITS Self-Managed Investment Company (SMIC), the Responsible Person of an AIF is the AIFM or the AIF SMIC, or in the case of an AIF with a non-EU AIFM, the Responsible Person is the fund itself.

This document has been prepared by McCann FitzGerald LLP for general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. Such advice should always be taken before acting on any of the matters discussed.