The DFSA launches a new programme for strengthened operational resilience in the financial sector. In the programme, the consequences of an extensive ICT disruption will be analysed by means of cyber stress testing.

A basic payment account allows you to deposit money, withdraw cash and execute and receive payment transactions. The account can also be used as your public bank account in Denmark, a so called “NemKonto”.

Investment firms and credit institutions from a country outside the European Union with which the Union has not entered into an agreement in the financial area (third-country) may apply the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority for a license to carry out investment services and activities with or without ancillary services on a cross-border basis without establishing a branch in Denmark, cf. Section 41 of the Danish Act on Investment Firms and Investment Services and Activities and Section 33 of the Danish Financial Business Act (Danish third-country cross-border license).

The UK’s exit from the EU means that the UK is no longer a part of the internal market and that EU regulation no longer applies. Consequently, UK based insurance undertakings cannot provide insurances in Denmark under the freedom to provide services or the right to establishment.

Blockchain is gaining traction in the financial field and the potential of the technology is widely recognised. However, with the use of new technology, new risks often also follow, and it can be difficult to determine how to handle services based on blockchain within the existing regulation.

The European Commission has decided to permanently lower the threshold for notification of net short positions. The threshold is changed from 0.2% to 0.1% of the issued share capital and will apply as from Monday 31 January 2022.

Danske Bank, Nykredit, Jyske Bank, and Sydbank have participated in the EU-wide stress test 2021. This is a very severe stress test, which leads to significant decreases in the capital ratios of the institutions. For Danske Bank the decrease is of a magnitude that the institution has to make use of the capital conservation buffer over the three-year projection. Jyske Bank fulfils its capital requirements, but with modest excess capital. All institutions fulfil their solvency need with a comfortable margin.

The Danish insurance company Gefion Finans A/S under frivillig likvidation (Gefion) formerly known as Gefion Insurance A/S has been declared bankrupt. Policyholders can cancel their policy, if they wish to do so. The policy will be cancelled 3 months after the declaration of the bankruptcy in the Danish journal, Statstidende. The Danish Guarantee Fund for non-life insurance undertakings will only cover risks (within the scope of coverage) in Denmark for insurance policies written in Denmark

Save the Date: We would like to invite you to the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s annual seminar on money laundering and terrorist financing.

On 27 march 2019, Danish parliament reached a political agreement on strengthening the Danish efforts against financial crime. As a part of this agreement, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) was assigned to analyse and identify initiatives that can support companies, who are subject to AML/CFT regulations in their efforts against financial crime with a specific focus on strengthening their Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.

The Danish market for mortgage credit bonds is the covered bond market in Europe with the highest trade transparency.

Several citizens have contacted the DFSA on the basis of having received false letters with the name and logo of the organization and in some cases even its stamp and signature.

Effective from 20 March 2021, the normal 0.2 percent notification threshold for net short positions in shares will come back into force. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has on 15 March 2021 decided not to renew its decision to temporarily lower the notification threshold to 0.1 percent for net short positions in shares traded on regulated markets within the European Union.

The eight countries of the Nordic-Baltic Constituency of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have taken the initiative to engage the IMF to conduct a regional analysis of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) threats and vulnerabilities.

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority encourages applicants to submit the application before 15 October 2020 in order to be sure that the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority is able to assess the application before the end of the transitional period entered into between the EU and the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020. In this connection, the EU and United Kingdom entered into a transitional agreement, which includes credit institutions and investment firms from the United Kingdom being able to continue to provide investment services and activities to customers in Denmark up to 31 December 2020.

On July 13 2020 Gefion Insurance A/S entered into liquidation. Attorney Troels Askerud and attorney Søren Aamann Jensen were appointed as the liquidators by the General Assembly.

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has refused to grant Gefion Insurance A/S an extension of three months of the recovery period and therefore has withdrawn the company’s license as insurance company.

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority have committed itself to carry out a cross-sector AML inspection of transaction monitoring in the two largest banks in Denmark, Nordea and Danske Bank.