Ukraine crisis

1. ESMA Statement

On 16 May 2022, ESMA published a Public Statement to promote convergence in relation to actions taken to manage the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on investment fund portfolios exposed to Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian assets (ESMA34-45-1633).

It concerns in particular the obligations of the IFMs to manage investment funds in the best interest of investors, to have adequate liquidity management systems in place and to ensure fair valuation of assets. The statement includes appropriate actions to deal with valuation issues in case of exposures to Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian assets, and notably provides clarifications on the use of side pockets (including for UCITS) in these exceptional circumstances.

2. CSSF actions and publications

In the context of the Ukrainian crisis, the CSSF has created a page dedicated to the Ukraine crisis on its website (Ukraine crisis - CSSF), with:

• the recently adopted regulations which detail the sanctions and restrictions on financial operations with regard to Russia and some of its nationals;
• the publications of the EU Commission and the EBA;
• the publications of the CSSF in that respect.

For further information on EU sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, please read our article in the EU Law, competition and antitrust section of this Newsletter here.