Central Bank of Ireland publishes Markets Update No 9 of 2024

A summary of the Central Bank of Ireland's Markets Update No. 9 of 2024 for regulated firms and other market participants.

On 21 October 2024, the Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) published Issue No 9 2024 of its regular Markets Update, in which it sets out alerts of interest to Irish regulated firms and other market participants.

For our summaries of the previous issues, please see the Related Articles at the foot of this page.

The new Update contains a single item:

Notice of Intention in relation to the application of the ESMA Guidelines on funds' names using ESG or sustainability-related terms

ESMA's guidelines on fund names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines) were published on 21 August 2024 and apply three months after the date of publication, i.e., from 21 November 2024.

The Guidelines are of relevance to

• UCITS ManCos and internally managed UCITS

• AIFMs and internally managed AIFs

• managers of EuVECA and EuSEF and

• managers of Money Market Funds

They apply in respect of both

• the obligation for a firm to act honestly and fairly in conducting its business and

• the obligation that all information included in marketing communications is fair, clear and not misleading.

The Central Bank has published a Notice, signalling the Central Bank's expectation of full compliance with the Guidelines from 21 November 2024.

In due course, the Central Bank intends to consult on incorporating a provision into its UCITS Regulations and AIF Rulebook that all in scope managers adhere to the Guidelines.

The Notice follows the Central Bank's announcement of a new streamlined filing process for updates to fund names based on the Guidelines' requirements, which was included in Markets Update No 8 of 2024.