The MFSA was informed on the 29th August, 2011, by the Luxembourg financial services regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (“the CSSF”) that it had decided to refuse to grant a licence to ARM Asset Backed Securities SA (“ARM”).
ARM is a special purpose vehicle based in Luxembourg which had issued bonds which were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange but which had been suspended from trading by the Central Bank of Ireland in November 2010 in view of the pending regulatory process in Luxembourg. ARM is unregulated but had applied for authorisation to the CSSF. Its bonds were marketed in a number of countries, including Malta through certain investment intermediaries.
CSSF’s decision means that, until further notice, all payments by ARM are suspended, includingredemptions of its bonds and coupon payments. ARM has four weeks in which to appeal the CSSF’s decision. If unchallenged, the CSSF’s decision will become final within one month and this will trigger off the dissolution and liquidation of ARM.
The MFSA has been in contact with the CSSF, the Central Bank of Ireland as well as the UK Financial Services Authority in relation to the recent developments concerning ARM and will continue to follow developments closely, in liaison with its foreign regulatory counterparts.
The MFSA has also requested local investment firms which have sold ARM to keep their clients fully informed of any material developments. In this respect, persons who hold investments in any of the ARM tranches are advised to contact their investment firm to seek further information about their holdings.
The following is a link to the CSSF’s Announcement of the 29th August, 2011.
MFSA Ref: 39-2011
