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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Earlier this month, European regulators met to discuss passporting for private funds. Specifically at issue was whether to make the passport available to outside jurisdictions like Hong Kong, the US and Cayman. ESMA published its Work Programme for 2016 on October 7, and in that the regulator said it wouldn't be publishing its second opinion on the passport issue until the end of next year. That timeline was buried in a footnote, and it seems that the regulator was hoping the extension would be handled quietly, while it focuses on building a consensus among member states.

Germany, specifically, is playing hardball with regulators on this issue.

"There was a concern initially, before AIFMD came into force, that Germany would take a very hard line on AIFMD and only permit marketing with a passport, but then there was an outcry from other countries, big German investors, etc. Then, they introduced a fairly onerous private placement route with a requirement for a fund depositary. There is a concern that if the passport is only extended to some jurisdictions they could retreat back to their original stance," Lisa Cawley, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis tells Opalesque.

If the passport is only extended on a case-by-case basis, key jurisdictions like Cayman or the US could be left out in the cold. "The big question is whethe......................

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