A regulatory stand-off has set in between Spanish and Irish investment authorities over the sale of Dublin based tax advantageous UCITS funds in Spain.
The row ensued, following a recent decision by the the Spanish regulator, the CNMV (Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores), to refer the sale of fiscally advantageous Irish funds to the European Commision, claiming they flouted EU rules on free sales throughout the community.
The funds, the Spanish say, which have been authorised by the Irish Central Bank - the country’s fund regulator, are not available for sale to Irish nationals due to their tax advantaged status.
This, they add, contravenes the idea of an EU passport fund, thus raising the question of their appropriateness for the Spanish and European markets.
Rosa Obejero, spokesperson for the CNMV, commented: “This particular issue is not a question of Spanish prejudice towards foreign ucits, and indeed we already have around 600 such funds in the Spanish market.
“However, we have referred to the European Commission to see where we should stand on these particular funds, which are very different because they do not follow the commercial freedom arrangements inherent in EU regulations, by not being on sale in their domestic market.”
But a spokesperson for the Irish Central Bank, says they have received no formal complaint from Spain over the sale of such funds.