ESA and AMLA guidelines: Bafin reduces number of circulars

A new overview shows which guidelines issued by the ESAs and AMLA are adopted in Bafin’s administrative practice. There will be no further circulars on this matter in future.

As of 1 October 2026, the German Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) publishes a tabular overview on its website showing which guidelines issued by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) and the EU Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) it has adopted in its administrative practice and which it has not. Bafin also issues information on this in a brief notice on its website and in its newsletter.

Furthermore, Bafin will now no longer publish or hold consultations on circulars that merely indicate whether or not guidelines have been adopted in Bafin’s administrative practice. By taking this approach, Bafin is reducing the number of publications relating to administrative practice and streamlining bureaucracy.