The Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has published the third edition of its Congress Columns, combining sector data with supervisory findings, regulatory positions and planned work for asset management and bank savings and investment products. Belgian public open-ended funds’ net assets rose 8 per cent to EUR 250 billion in 2025, while authorised Belgian management companies oversaw EUR 243 billion. Regulated savings accounts held more than EUR 303 billion, and retail exchange-traded fund activity almost doubled to 1.635 million transactions as digital distribution and passive investing continued to reshape the market. For asset managers, the FSMA calls for stronger and better-documented independent controls over environmental, social and governance disclosures, structured value-for-money assessments for each share class and clearer benchmark disclosures. Its reviews found no closet indexers and no immediate leverage-related financial stability risks, while its liquidity assessment indicated that the Belgian fund sector remained resilient. The publication also clarifies expectations on defence-sector investments, fund marketing, alternative investment fund notifications and prudential reporting. For banking products, it records a decline in non-structured bank debt issuance to about EUR 9 billion and a rise in structured-product issuance to EUR 3 billion, while addressing proposed savings-account reforms, prospectus requirements and access to crypto trackers and crypto-asset services. Planned work includes a 2026-2027 review of fund managers’ risk management functions and an examination of valuation practices for real estate and private assets. The FSMA is also developing an artificial intelligence tool to support a possible shift from prior approval to ex post supervision of fund marketing communications and plans to submit draft legislation on that change in early 2027.

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