This agreed settlement consists of the payment of 5,000 euros and the publication, by name, on the website of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY, PUBLISHED IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 78 OF THE LAW OF 21 NOVEMBER 2017Trading in the financial instruments of QRF, ISIN BE0974272040 on Euronext Brussels will re-open on 01/10/2025 at 9:00 CET.

The FSMA has published today the second edition of the Congress Columns. The Congress Columns are focused on the asset management sector and on bank savings and investment products.The Congress Columns are aimed at professionals in the sector. They address a number of sector-specific topics and thereby complement the FSMA's general annual report.The Congress Columns 2025 first describe the evolution of the sector concerned. The Congress Columns then discuss a number of the FSMA's views and expectations, as well as certain areas requiring attention and feedback following supervisory actions and analyses. The Congress Columns also discuss planned and ongoing supervisory actions.This publication is part of the FSMA's mission to strive for fair and correct treatment of financial consumers and aims to support the sectors in fulfilling their tasks.Consult the Congress Columns about asset management and banking products.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY, PUBLISHED IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 78 OF THE LAW OF 21 NOVEMBER 2017Trading in the financial instruments of QRF, ISIN BE0974272040, on Euronext Brussels is suspended on the request of the company from 30/09/2025 at 09:00 CET until the publication of a press release.

Jean-Paul Servais, the Chairman of the FSMA and Chair of IOSCO, was in New York during the week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He held a series of high-level meetings reinforcing the importance of international dialogue at the highest level and focusing on global cooperation and coordination in the area of financial markets and the protection of investors.During his stay in New York, he also gave an interview to Bloomberg Intelligence's Scarlet Fu and Paul Sweeney, to discuss IOSCO's role in fostering resilient global financial markets through international cooperation among financial markets supervisors, addressing emerging risks in cross-border markets, and focusing on the impact of technology on financial markets.Watch the full interview here. 

Managing one’s own money, working, renting or investing for the first time: all these are part of the process of becoming independent. But that step is not always easy. For this reason, the FSMA is today launching, via its financial education programme, Wikifin, a targeted communication campaign on social media. Its objective is to help young people gain better understanding, plan for and take steps towards financial independence. Wikifin will also tour schools and campuses in the course of this campaign.This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

On 26 September 2025, the FSMA’s Sanctions Committee handed down its decision concerning Nyrstar NV and the directors who were in office at the time of the actions in question. The decision has been published on the FSMA’s website (available in Dutch only).By way of reminder: this decision follows on from the investigations officer’s investigation reports and the decisions by the FSMA Management Committee of 30 September 2022 and 26 September 2023 to initiate, based on those reports, proceedings before the Sanctions Committee that may lead to the imposition of an administrative fine. More information on these decisions is available in the FSMA press releases of  25 July 2022 and  30 September 2022, which, like this press release, were published to properly inform the market .The Sanctions Committee identified two infringements on the part of Nyrstar NV: an infringement of the prohibition of market manipulation provided for in Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 596/2014) and a failure to comply with the obligation, provided for in Article 17 of the same Regulation, to inform the FSMA, immediately after a delayed disclosure to the public of inside information, of the said delay and to provide a written explanation of how the legal conditions for the delay were met. Specifically as regards the infringement of the prohibition of market manipulation, the Sanctions Committee deems that Nyrstar NV provided false or misleading information, stating on 30 October 2018 that there was a strong committed liquidity of 631 million euros, whereas that amount had by that time decreased to 440 million euros, and the latest weekly liquidity forecast as at the end of December 2018 stabilized at a positive amount of less than 200 million euros. Moreover, on its website it described the latter amount as “enhanced”, whereas the liquidity had in fact decreased as compared to the previous quarter.The second of three charges made by the Management Committee regarding a breach of the prohibition of market manipulation was thus considered to be partially well founded, while the other allegations as to the dissemination of allegedly misleading information about the solvency and liquidity position of Nyrstar NV, including its debt level and capital restructuring, were dismissed.Nyrstar NV was cleared of the first charge (publication of allegedly false or misleading information about the relationship with Trafigura and certain sales and purchase agreements) and of the third charge (publication of allegedly false or misleading information about the expected profit contribution of the redevelopment of the site of its zinc smelter in Port Pirie).The directors of Nyrstar NV (or their permanent representatives) who were in office at the time of these actions were cleared of the charge that they, as members of the Nyrstar NV Board of Directors, took part in the decision to disseminate information on behalf of Nyrstar NV about its liquidity position which has been determined to be false and misleading in nature, at a time when they knew or ought to have known that this information was false or misleading. For the infringements determined to have been committed by Nyrstar NV, the Sanctions Committee imposes an administrative fine of 80,000 euros.

As Chairman of both the FSMA and IOSCO, Jean-Paul Servais had a bilateral meeting with Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands during his visit to New York. Queen Máxima is one of the people who, for many years, has played a leading role, both internationally and in her own country, in the areas of financial health, inclusion, and education.In 2024, she was appointed the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, a new role that builds on her previous work as the UN Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (2009–2024). Since 1 July 2025, she has also been serving as Chair of the International Advisory Board of the Global Finance & Technology Network, a global initiative committed to building efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial systems.Jean-Paul Servais commented: ‘It was a great honour and pleasure to meet Her Majesty Queen Máxima. For many years, she has made a remarkable contribution to financial education at the global level, a field in which the FSMA is also very active through its Wikifin programme. IOSCO, with its more than 130 members worldwide, also places strong emphasis on financial literacy, notably through initiatives such as the annual World Investor Week, which will take place soon.’

This agreed settlement consists of the payment of 10,000 euros and the publication, by name, on the website of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

A concrete case: copying or imitating a client’s signature is unacceptableEveryone who holds a regulated position at an intermediary must be fit & proper, that is, must have appropriate experience and the requisite professional reliability. The FSMA has its own margin of appreciation when it comes to assessing the requirements for fitness and propriety. For more information, please read the newsletter (available in Dutch and French only).

Dozens of employers have in recent years entered into an agreed settlement because they rewarded their retiring employees individually with an additional supplementary pension. This practice is forbidden, and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) undertakes sanctions proceedings against such infringements. The FSMA’s action has led to date to 47 agreed settlements for a total amount of more than 370,000 euros.This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

This agreed settlement consists of the payment of 150,000 euros and the publication, by name, on the website of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site. 

Jean-Paul Servais, chairman of the FSMA and IOSCO and chair of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee, gave a keynote speech at the conference of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) in Lisbon. Before more than 1000 participants and alongside esteemed speakers like Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union Maria-Luís Albuquerque and the Portuguese Minister of State and Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento he stressed that the value of an audit - and the auditors who perform them - fundamentally depends on their credibility and trustworthiness.‘Ethical conduct is not merely a professional obligation but a critical responsibility that serves the broader public interest by fostering confidence and transparency within the financial system. Auditors play an essential and trusted role in maintaining the integrity of capital markets and protecting investors. Upholding high ethical standards is vital to fostering confidence and transparency within the financial system’, said Jean-Paul Servais.Read the full speech here.

The new Chair of the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, paid a visit to the FSMA during his first trip abroad. Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of the FSMA and of the international organization of securities commissions IOSCO, welcomed him and gave him a guided tour of the Wikifin Lab, the FSMA’s financial education centre.Both Chairs discussed, inter alia, the importance of financial education that must contribute to the resilience of financial consumers and the development of capital markets. In Belgium, the FSMA was entrusted with the legal duty to contribute to financial education. To this end, it launched the Wikifin programme in 2013 that has since become very successful. The Wikifin website receives 6 million visits per year. The Wikifin Lab offers secondary school students a unique interactive experience in financial education. Since its opening in 2020, the Wikifin Lab has been fully booked.Paul Atkins and Jean-Paul Servais also discussed IOSCO’s role in promoting cross-border cooperation between the IOSCO members that is key to ensuring financial market integrity and investor protection. They also spoke about the international efforts in a number of topical issues, such as financial technologies and their impact on the capital markets.Afterwards, Jean-Paul Servais declared he looked forward to further cooperation with the SEC: ‘I look forward to continue this dialogue with the SEC and all IOSCO members and to jointly build strong and resilient financial markets.’

Under the DLT Pilot Regime, investment firms, market operators, central securities depositories and other legal entities can apply for specific permission to operate a DLT settlement system (DLT SS), a DLT mutlilateral trading facility (DLT MTF) or a DLT trading and settlement system (DLT TSS).The Law of 20 December 2023 containing various financial provisions governs the division of powers between the National Bank (NBB) and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) for the treatment of such requests for permission. In the current set of guidelines, the FSMA clarifies to which of the two supervisory authorities entites are to address their applications for consent and for exemption if they wish to take part in the DLT Pilot Regime.For more information see the FSMA Communication_2025_14

The Chairman of the FSMA, Jean-Paul Servais, gave a keynote speech today at an international conference in Frankfurt at the invitation of Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union, and Mark Branson, President of the German financial supervisory authority Bafin, also spoke at the conference.As chair of IOSCO, the international organization whose membership regulates 95% of the world's securities markets in more than 130 jurisdictions, and of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee, Jean-Paul Servais emphasized that many challenges that capital markets are facing, are global in nature.‘Well-functioning markets are essential to broader goals, such as the digital transformation of our economies. I support efforts to deepen and strengthen those markets — resulting in better access, increased liquidity and more diversified investment opportunities. A seamless framework, aligned with global standards, is key to making this a reality,’ Jean-Paul Servais declared to an audience of over 100 participants.

Partial suspension, pursuant to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Law, of the registration of 7 insurance intermediaries because of their failure to answer the FSMA’s questions that are necessary for it to determine their risk profile as required by the AML Law.This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has published a new edition of its quarterly dashboard of Belgian public open-ended investment funds, generally referred to as investment funds. The overview presented in this dashboard covers the second quarter of the year 2025.This press release is not available in English. Please consult the French or Dutch site.

The FSMA has, since 22 May 2018, made available a tool and a handbook for insurance intermediaries who are subject to the AML/CFT Law, to help them with their overall risk assessment.In order to take account of changes to the AML/CFT law, the FSMA has updated its ‘My overall risk assessment’ tool and the handbook in order to make it clearer and more user-friendly.For more information, please see the FSMA_2025_13 Handbook (available in French and Dutch only)

The FSMA has, since 22 May 2018, made available a tool and a handbook for insurance intermediaries who are subject to the AML/CFT Law, to help them with their overall risk assessment.In order to take account of changes to the AML/CFT law, the FSMA has updated its ‘My overall risk assessment’ tool and the handbook in order to make it clearer and more user-friendly.For more information, please see the FSMA_2025_13 Handbook (available in French and Dutch only)