1) ESMA: Call for Evidence on tokenized collateral

On 9 October 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a Call for Evidence on the use of tokenized collateral by central counterparties (“CCPs”). The objective is to verify whether, and under what conditions, such collateral can be used safely and effectively by EU CCPs.

The initiative aims to assess whether, and to what extent, tokenization affects the ways in which already eligible assets are mobilized, transferred, managed and realized.

In particular, ESMA seeks feedback on:

• the main tokenization models: (i) tokenized representations of assets held in traditional infrastructures (digital twins); (ii) assets issued natively on distributed ledger technology (so-called DLT); and (iii) hybrid solutions, including in their interaction with tokenized cash;
• legal aspects, including the legal nature of the tokenized collateral arrangement, the effectiveness of segregation and of the protection of client assets, as well as the conditions for settlement finality and the irrevocability of collateral transfers;
• liquidity, haircuts, operational resilience and cross-cutting aspects, such as interoperability, market concentration and the technology neutrality of the European regulatory framework.

The Call for Evidence will remain open until 15 January 2027.

2) Bank of Italy: transitional regime for bulk transfers of greater significance

On 8 October 2026, the Notice of Bank of Italy (“Bankit”) concerning amendments to Circular No. 288/2015, containing the supervisory provisions for financial intermediaries on the bulk transfer of legal relationships of greater significance, was published in Official Gazette No. 234.

The measure follows Article 1, paragraph 1, letter r) of Legislative Decree No. 208/2025 which, in implementation of Article 27-septies of Directive (EU) 2016/36 (the so-called CRD), amended Article 58, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Banking Act (“TUB”), removing Bankit’s power to make transactions of greater significance subject to authorization, applicable to transfers made after the entry into force of the relevant provisions. Pending the adoption of the amendments to Circular No. 288/2015 – currently under consultation (see news item No. 6 in this issue) – the Authority has acted on a transitional basis, in line with Article 58-bis of the TUB.

From the entry into force of the Notice: (i) the obligation of prior authorization for transfers of greater significance provided for by Title V, Chapter 3, of Circular No. 288/2015 is repealed; (ii) such transactions must be notified to Bankit sufficiently in advance of their completion, without prejudice to the obligation of subsequent notification in the cases already provided for and to the Authority’s powers of intervention; and (iii) Title V, Chapter 3, of the same Circular continues to apply to the information to be transmitted.

The measure entered into force on 9 October 2026 and also applies to proceedings already pending on that date.

3) ESMA: opinion on supervisory expectations regarding services related to unauthorized stablecoins published

On 8 October 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published an opinion aimed at clarifying supervisory expectations regarding the provision of crypto-asset services relating to stablecoins that do not comply with the Regulation (UE) 2023/1114 on crypto-assets markets (“MiCAR”).

In particular, ESMA specified that crypto-asset service providers authorized under MiCAR must cease to offer clients in the European Union services relating to non-compliant stablecoins, including trading, exchange, execution and transmission of orders, advice, custody and portfolio management. The Authority also invited the national competent authorities to ensure that operators neither maintain nor facilitate access to such instruments, and that they put in place adequate technical, contractual and organizational safeguards.

With regard to pre-existing exposures, ESMA requested that they be regularized within three months of the publication of the opinion. During that period, services may continue solely to allow the liquidation, conversion, withdrawal, transfer or custody of the instruments concerned, under the close supervision of the competent authorities.

4) Borsa Italiana: amendments to the MTF Rules on the admission of operators and error handling published

On 6 October 2026, Borsa Italiana published Notices No. 51120 and No. 51121, containing amendments to the Rules of the Multilateral Trading Facilities (“MTF”) organized and managed by Borsa Italiana.

With Notice No. 51120, Borsa Italiana aims to streamline the admission procedures. For that reason, it removes the obligation for operators to send it the agreement with the settlement agent where the member does not participate directly in the settlement system. Consequently, in the rules of the markets concerned, the reference to indirect participation in settlement services is deleted from the conditions for participation.

Notice No. 51121, by contrast, amends the rules on error handling, in particular the methods for calculating the amount payable by market participants. The calculation formula previously provided for in the guidelines is deleted. The amount of the fee will now be set in the Guide to the Parameters. These amendments apply to the rulebooks of the Euronext GEM, TAH, Euronext Access Milan and ATFund MTFs and reproduce the provisions of the Rules of Euronext Growth Milan, SeDeX and EuroTLX. For the SeDeX and EuroTLX markets, the abovementioned notice also amends the time interval between the first and the last trade subject to a request for intervention, increasing it from 60 seconds to 5 minutes, for errors resulting from the entry of multiple orders that have led to the conclusion of several contracts linked by continuity to the original error.

The amendments entered into force on 19 October 2026.

5) Bank of Italy: consultation launched on amendments to the rules for financial intermediaries entered in the register under Article 106 of the TUB

On 30 September 2026, the Bank of Italy published a consultation document with proposed amendments to Circular No. 288/2015, which contains the supervisory provisions for financial intermediaries (the “106 Intermediaries”), and to Circular No. 286/2013, concerning the instructions for completing prudential reports for supervised entities.

In particular, the amendments to Circular No. 288/2015 aim to:

• extend to the 106 Intermediaries the new provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1623 on credit risk, operational risk, credit valuation adjustment risk, large exposures and the output floor;
• implement the provisions transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1619 on bulk transfers of legal relationships. For such transfers, the obligation of prior authorization is no longer applicable, but – in the case of significant transfers – an obligation of prior notification is introduced;
• extend to the 106 Intermediaries the rules on concentration risk towards central counterparties, pursuant to Directive (EU) 2024/2994;
• align the rules with Legislative Decree No. 23/2025, implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2554;
• simplify the rules on interest rate risk in the banking book; and
• revise the calculation of the capital requirement for operational risk of intermediaries carrying out servicing activities for securitisations.

The amendments to Circular No. 286/2013 extend to the 106 Intermediaries the reporting templates drawn up by the EBA for banks, with some simplifications for reasons of proportionality.

The consultation remains open until 30 November 2026.