Aufsichtsrechtliche Implikationen der COVID-19-Krise und Maßnahmen der Aufsichtsbehörden

Abstract

The coronavirus is currently holding the world hostage. Within a short period of time, the virus has reached Europe and also Austria. Cases of the disease in some countries are still increasing at an enormous rate. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the countermeasures taken by many countries inside and outside the European Union have significant economic consequences. All this has an enormous impact on the economy and thus also on the financial markets and their participants. Accordingly, the Austrian legislator has reacted to the current crisis in various ways, specifically by enacting several socalled “COVID-19 laws”. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (“FMA”) and the European supervisory authorities have also reacted accordingly and announced numerous measures, many of which have already been implemented. However, it is not easy to keep an overview of this veritable flood of measures. Some of the steps taken by the supervisory authorities and by the Austrian legislature will therefore be described below, but not exhaustively. Measures taken by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (“EIOPA”) will not be dealt with in this article.