Politics

BaFin critical of the law for protecting minority investors

The financial control regulator (BaFin) is refusing prior implementation of parts of the revised MIFID II financial market directive by the draft bill for protecting minority investors. The watchdog is wary of introducing nation-wide regulations like Mifid II now seeing as how new measures will come into force in 2017 that will oblige changes to be made to MiFid II should there be issues in conflict.

Despite the fierce controversy still surrounding the bill, the federal cabinet is expected to pass the law sometime in the autumn. The new law is planned to help private investors assess bond risks, and secured rights to dividends. As it stands at present, however, the law would exclude many initiatives such as, for example, small retailers, kindergartens, houses for the elderly and energy projects. The coalition contract between the governing parties, by contrast, promotes entrepreneurial initiatives that would favour the public good. The law for protecting minority investors was drafted in the wake of the bankruptcy of wind farm planner Prokon.