Tagged: EU

August 30, 2023 @ 9:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Banks have long struggled to serve small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) effectively, despite the prominence of these companies in national economies, as SMEs recently “represented just over half of gross value added in the European Union and just under half in the US.” As noted… Read More

August 23, 2023 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and SME Finance in Lithuania have joined to provide €40 million in financing for businesses in the Baltics and elsewhere, according to a statement by the EIF. The EIF will be providing a guarantee to SME finance to provide investments… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 8:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Government of Ireland has submitted its own consultation on possible regulation of digital assets or crypto. The European Union has approved crypto asset regulation under MiCA. Ireland, part of the EU, is flexing its prerogative to present its own consultation on possible regulation or… Read More

August 3, 2023 @ 11:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In the evolving landscape of European financial regulations, it is crucial for businesses and stakeholders “to stay informed about the latest developments,” according to a report by the law firm of Bird & Bird. The EU proposals, or the Financial data access and payments package,… Read More

July 27, 2023 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital security platform Securitize will become the first entity to enable tokenized securities in the European Union – as well as the US. Securitize has been approved for tokenized assets under an EU pilot regime. The company holds security licenses in both the US and… Read More

July 24, 2023 @ 9:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

EstateGuru, a platform that matches borrowers with investors, has provided a half year update on its activities. The company reported that during the first 6 months of the year, EstateGuru has financed 269 separate real estate projects raising €44 million. During the same period, investors… Read More

July 24, 2023 @ 10:26 am By JD Alois  |  

Profitable digital bank bunq has raised more money. According to a note from the firm bunq has received €44.5 million at a pre-money valuation of €1.65 billion.  In 2021 bunq raised €193 million at the same valuation. Bunq was founded by Ali Niknam after he… Read More

July 20, 2023 @ 8:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

HeavyFinance, a European climate tech investment marketplace, has gained the European Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSP) license to accelerate its financial service expansion in Europe. HeavyFinance, based in Lithuania, originates loans directly in five European markets – Poland, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, and Bulgaria. This follows the… Read More

July 13, 2023 @ 11:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of London announces it has submitted its formal application for a European Union (EU) Banking Licence and “commits to €200M investment and hiring 300 people in Luxembourg over the next five years.” The formal application has been jointly “lodged with the European Central… Read More

July 12, 2023 @ 11:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

EstateGuru, an established online marketplace for secured loans, has been approved to operate across the European Union under ECSPR or European Crowdfunding Securities Provider Regulation. EstateGuru will join a handful of other online marketplaces to issue securities and raise capital online in the EU. As… Read More

July 8, 2023 @ 1:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As trilogue negotiations take place on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) proposal later this month, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has published a position paper, “outlining its recommendations for negotiators and calling on them to focus on ensuring that the… Read More

July 3, 2023 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Invesdor Group is the combination of Finnest, Kapilendo, and Oneplanetcrowd. The Nordic company aims to become the dominant online capital formation platform in the European Union by providing access to capital and investment opportunity across Europe. At the end of 2022, Invesdor announced its… Read More

June 28, 2023 @ 6:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Like many other jurisdictions, the European Union has been reviewing the potential to launch a digital Euro, and today, the EU took another step in that direction. As expected, the EU issued a proposal to create a digital Euro which seeks to satisfy the needs… Read More

June 27, 2023 @ 6:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Union is expected to release its proposal on digital payments and a possible digital euro soon. In advance of the anticipated release, the Crypto Council for Innovation has issued a statement on the forthcoming policy. Mark Foster, the EU Policy Lead at the… Read More

June 23, 2023 @ 5:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Union has introduced the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC), a new entity that aims to focus on promoting blockchain policy in order to move Europe’s “digital decade” forward in a meaningful manner. The EDIC should become operational towards the end of 2024 and… Read More

June 17, 2023 @ 9:44 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of the new European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regulation (ECSPR), which legalizes pan-EU securities crowdfunding, platforms must be approved by the relevant authority in a member state. France, the second largest economy in the EU, has incorporated rules for the approval process and today… Read More

June 14, 2023 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a time frame for the implementation of Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). EMSA is the EU securities regulator. The EU recently approved the legislation as it seeks to enable digital asset innovation while incorporating investor protection… Read More

June 12, 2023 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Onfido, the automated identity verification provider, announced it has achieved ETSI TS 119 461 certification, the latest European technical standards for identity proofing and trust services by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This allows Onfido to “act as an Identity Proofing Service Provider (IPSP)… Read More

June 11, 2023 @ 1:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

We last looked at the ECSPR [European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation] approved crowdfunding platforms in March 2023. At that time, 21 approved securities crowdfunding platforms were allowed to provide services across all European Union member states. ECSPR allows a platform to list securities from private… Read More

June 8, 2023 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

SeedBlink, a European securities crowdfunding provider, has expanded into the DACH countries – Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. SeedBlinke, based in Bucharest, has been announcing operations across different EU countries in recent months. SeedBlink pitches its services as a “co-investment platform,” allowing VC money to pair… Read More