CySEC Issues Circular C757: CIF- Cross Border Data Collection Exercise
On February 25 2026, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) released a follow-up circular to Circular C754, addressed to Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs), providing detailed instructions on completing the Electronic Cross-Border Questionnaire via the EU online platform. The exercise is initiated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) under section 25(1)(c)(ii) & (iii) of the CySEC Law and applies to firms providing investment services in EEA Member States other than their home country, including Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, during 2025.
Key points of the follow-up Circular:
1. Scope of the Cross-Border Data Collection Exercise
CySEC informs CIFs that data must be reported for cross-border investment services provided on a freedom to provide services basis, and only for host Member States where services were delivered to more than 50 retail clients. Retail clients also include those treated as professionals on request under Section II of Annex II of MiFID II.
2. Reporting Period and Reference Date
The data to be reported refers to:
- Reporting period: 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025
- Reference date: 31 December 2025
3. Criteria to Submit the form
- CIF provides investment services to more than 50 retail clients in four host Member States
- Online questionnaire should be filled out and submitted four times
- One for each host Member State.
Provision of Cross-border services in other Member States refers to services and activities provided on a “freedom to provide services” basis and CIFs should not account for any services and activities provided on a “freedom of establishment” basis (i.e. through a branch).
CIFs may use client residence to determine whether investment services were provided in other Member States. Separate contributions must be submitted for each qualifying host Member State; contributions for Cyprus are not required.
4. Treatment of Inactive Clients
CIFs must exclude clients considered inactive, defined as clients who:
- Were inactive for at least one year,
- Received no investment or ancillary services during that period, and
- From whom the CIF receives no revenue.
Clients from whom the CIF continues to receive fees, such as account maintenance charges, must still be reported.
5. Notification to CySEC and Submission Process
CIFs meeting the criteria must provide a valid company email address (e.g., compliance@…, info@…) to riskstatistics.cifs@cysec.gov.cy.
- Submission deadline: 27 March 2026
- Corrections to submitted data can be made by resubmitting the questionnaire or entering zero for active clients if a host Member State was incorrectly included.
- Enquiries must be submitted prior to 20 March 2026.
6. Key Changes This Year
- The “save as draft” and “edit contribution” functions are removed; submissions must be completed in a single session.
- A new “Cash Management” category captures fees from inactive accounts.
- CIFs must report client complaints attributable to AML/CFT obligations, such as account restrictions, withdrawal limitations, or delays in deposits. These reports are purely statistical.
7. Submission Guidance
- CIFs must ensure firm details (legal name, type, LEI, contact person) are accurate.
- Financial figures must be submitted as whole numbers without separators; decimals are limited to two digits.
- Validation checks in the form prevent submission if errors exist; instructions are available via question marks (?) next to each field.
Failure to comply promptly may result in administrative penalties under section 37(5) of the CySEC Law, and no reminders will be issued to non-compliant firms.
Contact us at compliance@salvusfunds.com if you have any questions or require support to ensure compliance with Circular C757. We are always ready to answer your questions and support you in achieving regulatory compliance.
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The information provided in this article is for general information purposes only. You should always seek professional advice suitable to your needs.