At the end of 2022, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) was overseeing 837 regulated entities, a rise of 3.9% compared to the year before.
CySEC declared:
During 2022, a total of 86 applications for licenses were approved for all types of entities under the supervision of CySEC. CySEC rejected 6 applications for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) licenses and a further 15 applications were withdrawn, including applications for CIF licences and collective investments.
The data indicates that in comparison to last year, there is a 12% rise in the number of applicants currently being considered for licensing, with roughly 100 new ones being evaluated.
Throughout the year, CySEC’s Supervision Department carried out various evaluations and assessments on CIFs, including remote, thematic, and on-site inspections, alongside inspecting the reporting obligations for transactions and derivatives contracts.
The Department furthermore monitored the regulations of Collective Investment Institutions and the online advertising practices of CIFs with the help of its particular system. CySEC imposed administrative financial penalties totaling roughly €2.9 million in 2022, with the majority concerning CIFs.
The Chairman of CySEC, Dr. George Theocharides, announced that the supervisory role will be extended to include European Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSPs) and Providers of Pan-European Personal Pension products (PEPP).
In 2023, the regulator intends to implement a technological upgrade, as well as double down on educating the public about investing. As part of this mission, they will be granted an annual award to two university students in order to spread financial literacy.
The Cypriot regulator said:
During 2023, CySEC will advance the processes for creating a control and management system for licensing applications. With the completion of the system, all applications for licensing of supervised entities will be submitted electronically, as well as any changes submitted periodically by the supervised entities, such as the members of their Board of Directors.
