Legislative amendments aimed at improving the financial market infrastructure have been published in Monitorul Oficial.
The corresponding package of amendments to 7 laws, promulgated by Moldovan President Maia Sandu, was published in Monitorul Oficial (the Oficial Journal of Moldova) and took effect. The document is aimed at consolidating the National Bank's monitoring and supervisory powers in the financial market infrastructure and payment systems; delimitation of the regulatory and supervisory responsibilities of the Single Central Securities Depository (CSD) between the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) and the National Financial Market Commission (CNPF), adjusting the requirements regarding the connection of the CSD to CSDs in other countries and the conditions of authorization of such connections by the NBM to ensure interoperability, etc. In particular, the system of regulation, monitoring and supervision of the CSD was revised in order to detail its scope of activity, and the powers of the NBM and the CNPF regarding the regulation and supervision of the CSD were more clearly defined and separated. The Law on the National Bank of Moldova was completed with provisions that clearly reflect the functions of establishing, regulating, licensing, authorizing, monitoring the financial market infrastructure, as well as payment systems, mechanisms and instruments in order to promote safe and efficient functioning, including the prevention of systemic risk. The Law is supplemented with provisions related to licensing of managers of financial market infrastructures, authorization of bodies managing payment schemes or mechanisms, etc. Sanctions are envisaged, including fines for non-compliance with the provisions of the Law on National Bank and the rules issued by the NBM for entities that do not comply with the remedial measures prescribed to them (from MDL 10 thousand to MDL 600 thousand). It is stipulated that the maximum amount of fines shall be at a level that ensures the effectiveness, proportionality and deterrent effect of sanctions and shall be in line with the capital/turnover of the infrastructure/scheme/financial market or its participants. The Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money was supplemented, according to which, at the request of the NBM, it shall be obliged to carry out an annual external audit of outsourced activities/operations through an audit entity approved by the NBM, in accordance with the requirements established in the normative acts of the National Bank. In the Law on Capital Market, in the context of specifying the CNPF supervisory powers over the CSD, the obligation to ensure the CNPF access to the electronic system of the CSD is introduced. The Law on Finality of Settlement in Payment Systems and Financial Instruments Settlement Systems proposed a more precise definition of the concept of "systemic risk" and expanded the list of entities subject to the concept of "institution", which was supplemented by payment companies or companies issuing electronic currency. The Law on the Single Central Securities Depository provides for the division of responsibilities between the NBM and the CNPF in the part related to the regulation and supervision of the CSD: CNPF will be responsible for the regulation and supervision of the CSD in terms of responsibility for the corporate securities market area, while the NBM will be responsible for other aspects of the CSD activity. At the same time, the NBM's functions were supplemented with the function of monitoring the CSD as a crucial element of the financial infrastructure. The Law took effect; the necessary sub-law framework is to be approved within 6 months. // 24.10.2023 - InfoMarket.
