Regulation on requirements for electronic securities registers entered into force at the end of October.

The eWpG makes it possible to dispense with the previously required securities certificate when issuing bonds and investment fund certificates and instead to issue the securities by entering them in an electronic securities register.

Electronic securities registries are either central registries maintained by the central securities depository or a custodian bank, or crypto securities registries maintained using blockchain technology or similar technologies. In accordance with the eWpG, register-keeping bodies must fulfill various requirements.

The Ordinance includes general requirements for the establishment and maintenance of an electronic securities register, the authentication tools to be used, the accessibility of the source code used, and requirements for cryptographic procedures and interfaces (cf. Sections 5, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 19 eWpRV).

In addition, are determined in more detail, the

• Specification and documentation obligations that entities keeping the register must fulfill (sections 3, 9, 12, 13 eWpRV,
• required information that an electronic securities register must contain (sections 4, 7, 8 eWpRV,
• Conditions of Participation in and Inspection of Electronic Securities Registers (Sections 2, 10, 11, 18 eWpRV),
• more detailed provisions on the list of crypto securities maintained by BaFin pursuant to section 20 (3) eWpG (section 17 eWpRV) and
• a regulation on the types of registration to be provided for by entities keeping the register (Section 6 eWpRV).

The draft bill deliberately does not make regulations in all areas covered by the extensive powers to issue ordinances in sections 15, 23 eWpG, but leaves room for the development of market practices.

As financial services providers, registrar entities are also subject to sections 25a et seq. of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) and the administrative regulations issued to specify them, such as the Minimum Requirements for Risk Management (MaRisk) and the Banking Supervisory Requirements for IT (BAIT).