The Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino announces that, on May 13, 2021, it issued Regulation No. 2021-01, titled "Miscellaneous targeted amendments to the current supervisory provisions," which will enter into force on May 17, 2021.
The measure, enacted following the public consultation process held from March 8, 2021, to April 23, 2021, comprises 19 articles and 4 annexes. It introduces extensive amendments and additions to 15 regulations and circulars, while also implementing overarching provisions that impact the entire supervisory framework. A detailed overview is provided in the table below:
| n. Art. |
Amended Act |
Subject |
| 1 |
Reg.2007-07 |
Collection of savings and banking activities |
| 2 |
Reg.2011-03 |
Lending activities (finance companies) |
| 3 |
Reg.2008-01 |
Life insurance business |
| 4 |
Reg.2006-01 |
Register of authorized persons |
| 5 |
Reg.2011-06 |
Trusts and supervision of financial trustees |
| 6 |
Reg.2010-01 |
Professional practice of the office of trustee |
| 7 |
Reg.2014-01 |
Financial promotion and over-the-counter offerings |
| 8 |
Circ.2015-02 |
Disclosure requirements regarding the central credit bureau |
| 9 |
Reg.2007-02 |
Insurance and reinsurance intermediation |
| 10 |
Reg.2016-01 |
Depositors' guarantee fund |
| 11 |
Reg.2006-03 |
Collective investment services |
| 12 |
Circ.2017-03 |
Disclosure requirements for corporate financial statements |
| 13 |
Circ.2017-04 |
Accounting situation |
| 14 |
Reg.2015-01 |
Informational supervision |
| 15 |
Reg.2020-04 |
Reg. payment services and issuance of electronic money |
| 16 |
/ |
Simplification and digitization of processes |
| 17 |
/ |
Final Standards |
| 18 |
/ |
Transitional rules |
| 19 |
/ |
Consolidated texts |
| All.1 |
Reg.2014-01 |
Annex E to the Regulations on Financial Promoters |
| All.2 |
Circ.2015-02 |
Annex C to the Circular on Central Risks |
| All.3 |
Reg.2007-02 |
Annex F to the Regulations on Insurance Brokerage |
| All.4 |
Reg.2006-03 |
Annex I to the Regulations on Collective Investment Services |
Through the aforementioned measures, the regulatory provisions primarily:
- Enhance supervisory requirements concerning the effectiveness of internal control systems, particularly for banks and their internal auditing and risk management functions, while also raising standards for asset management companies and insurance firms, with a specific focus on compliance functions;
- Align professional requirements for financial promoters and off-site offerors with the new standards introduced for independent financial advisors, granting existing professionals an 18-month period to comply where necessary;
- Harmonize restrictions on registration in the respective professional registers for financial promoters, independent financial advisors, and insurance intermediaries, as regulated entities under the LISF;
- Introduce modifications to the Credit Register, enabling the registration of trusts in the identification database and ensuring the accurate reporting of their credit exposures, while also distinguishing, in regulatory reporting, between credit losses and losses incurred through credit transfers, particularly in relation to non-performing loans;
- Update regulatory parameters for the exemption of insurance intermediaries from supervisory regulations when distributing policies on an ancillary basis (e.g., travel agencies), while also revising the minimum coverage thresholds for professional liability insurance applicable to insurance intermediaries;
- Integrate the regulatory framework governing the deposit guarantee fund, ensuring alignment with new intervention tools related to extraordinary administrations and bank resolution procedures (Articles 18 and 19 of Law No. 102/2019);
- Enhance the quality of financial disclosures, specifically in relation to banks’ semi-annual financial statements and accompanying notes to their annual financial reports;
- Extend authorization requirements for acquiring services (merchant payment processing) provided by foreign institutions to San Marino-based economic operators, regardless of the technical or technological modality (including virtual POS and e-wallets, in line with the PSD2 framework), while introducing:
- a simplified authorization procedure for institutions headquartered within the EU or EEA (thus already PSD2-compliant);
- a transitional period until the end of 2021, ensuring a gradual adjustment for San Marino-based businesses already relying on foreign institutions for such services (particularly in the e-commerce sector);
- Mandate a preliminary mapping of sanctionable entities beyond corporate executives, requiring these individuals to provide proof of domicile in San Marino for notification purposes if they are not officially registered as residents;
- Introduce general provisions aimed at streamlining administrative processes, fostering digitalization, and promoting internationalization with respect to communications and documentation submitted to the Central Bank for supervisory purposes, specifically by:
- permitting digital or in-person signatures as an alternative to notarized authentication;
- allowing electronic or hand-delivered registered mail as an alternative to traditional paper-based registered mail;
- recognizing English as equivalent to Italian, thereby eliminating the requirement for translations.