Rule · CSSF · 8 Jan 2026
Circular CSSF 26/904 amends Circular CSSF 24/853 by adding four new modules to the self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) for investment firms: ICT organisation, ICT risk control environment, UCI administration, and marketing, distribution or sale of contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients. The circular specifies that the ICT risk control environment module applies only to class 2 and class 3 investment firms not considered microenterprises under DORA, the UCI administration module applies only to firms providing UCI administration activities, and the CFD module applies only to firms marketing, distributing, or selling CFDs to retail clients. Additionally, the list of SAQ modules and their descriptions has been removed from the circular and is now published on the CSSF website.
Circular CSSF 26/904
Update of Circular CSSF
24/853 on the Long Form
Report (as amended by
Circular CSSF 25/870) -
Practical rules concerning the self-assessment questionnaire to be submitted by investment firms Mission and related reports of the réviseurs d’entreprises agréés (approved statutory auditors)
CIRCULAR CSSF 26/904 2/2
Circular CSSF 26/904
Update of Circular CSSF 24/853 on the Long Form Report (as amended by Circular CSSF 25/870) - Practical rules concerning the self-assessment questionnaire to be submitted by investment firms Mission and related reports of the réviseurs d’entreprises agréés (approved statutory auditors) To investment firms and Luxembourg branches of non-EU investment firms Luxembourg, 8 January 2026 Ladies and Gentlemen, The purpose of this circular is to amend Circular CSSF 24/853 on the long form report with the aim to further align the content of the self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) with supervisory points of focus. Consequently, the following new modules have been included in the SAQ:
a. ICT organisation1 b. ICT risk control environment2
c. UCI administration3
d. marketing, distribution or sale of contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients4. In addition, some modules have been updated to better align with supervisory objectives while also giving due consideration to the principle of proportionality. The list of modules in the SAQ and their descriptions have been removed from Circular CSSF 24/853 and is now available on the CSSF website (https://www.cssf.lu/en/prudential-reporting-forinvestment-firms/). Please refer to Annex 1 for the details of the amendments to Circular CSSF 24/853 (as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904). Claude WAMPACH Director Marco ZWICK Director Jean-Pierre FABER Director Françoise KAUTHEN Director Claude MARX Director General
Annex 1: Circular CSSF 24/853, as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904
1 The questions of Section 8 (IT function) of the module “1.b. Governance - internal governance arrangements” have been either removed or transferred to the new module “ICT organisation” of the SAQ. 2 This module applies only to class 2 (non SNI IFR investment firms) and class 3 investment firms (SNI IFR investment firms) which are not considered as microenterprise under DORA. 3 This module applies only to investment firms that effectively provide UCI administration activities (registrar function, NAV calculation and accounting function, as well as client communication services). 4 This module applies only to investment firms which marketed, distributed or sold CFD to retail clients.
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 1/15 Circular CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 LONG FORM REPORT – Practical rules concerning the self-assessment questionnaire to be submitted by investment firms Mission and related reports of the réviseurs d’entreprises agréés (approved statutory auditors)
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 2/15 Circular CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 LONG FORM REPORT – Practical rules concerning the selfassessment questionnaire to be submitted by investment firms Mission and related reports of the réviseurs d’entreprises agréés (approved statutory auditors) To investment firms and Luxembourg branches of non-EU investment firms Luxembourg, 30 January 2024 Ladies and Gentlemen, The purpose of this circular is to introduce the key aspects of the revised long form report (the revised LFR) that applies to all investment firms as from the financial year ending on 31 December 2024. The revision of the long form report is the result of a thorough reconsideration of its objective, scope and content in order to realign it with the supervisory and prudential points of focus of the CSSF. Accordingly, the revised LFR has been designed with a view to allowing the CSSF to obtain relevant information as regards investment firms’ compliance with key regulatory provisions. In this view, the revised LFR allows the CSSF to gather sufficient information all the while further facilitating the implementation of a risk-based approach to supervision. In the review process, due consideration has been given to the principle of proportionality, as investment firms will only be required to provide information that is both relevant against the background of their business model and incremental compared to information already provided by them to the CSSF via other reporting obligations and channels, thus reducing redundancies between existing reports. With respect to its form and in line with the CSSF’s digital strategy (CSSF 4.0), the revised LFR turns digital to allow a more efficient reporting processing and ease data analysis. Its completion and submission will be required through the dedicated channel via the online portal of the CSSF.
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 3/15
Table of Contents
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 4/15
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 5/15
3) a separate report on the protection of financial instruments and funds belonging to
clients as required by Article 7 of the Grand-ducal Regulation of 30 May 20187 (the MiFID GDR) to be prepared on a yearly basis by the REA (the MiFID report8); and
4) a separate report on the procedures set up by the investment firm concerning antimoney laundering and countering the financing of terrorism based on Articles 49(2) and
49(3) of CSSF Regulation No 12-02 of 14 December 2012 (the RCSSF 12-02) 9 to be prepared on a yearly basis by the REA (the AML/CFT report). Partial Scope IF subject to the revised LFR for the first time for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 are exempted from the submission of the AUP report for the AUP threeyear-cycle starting at the financial year ending 31 December 2024. Please refer to Annex II.
2. The revised LFR shall apply to investment firms on an individual basis only10. No consolidated
revised LFR is required where an investment firm is subject to supervision on a consolidated basis by the CSSF.
3. The four parts of the revised LFR form a single document. The SAQ to be completed by the
investment firms represents a key element for defining the contents of the mission of the REA. The REA’s mission is not to validate the SAQ. However, considering the interlinkages between the SAQ and the AUP and MIFID reports of the REA, the REA shall take contact with the CSSF11 should material errors having an impact on the extent of their work required under section 4 of this Circular be identified in the SAQ.
3. The self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ)
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 6/15
5. The investment firm is required to upload specific supporting documents as attached
documents in the SAQ (e.g. organisation chart, IT flowchart, outsourcing register, summary report of the internal audit function).
4. The mission of the REA
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 7/15
4.2. The MiFID report
8. The MiFID report shall cover the adequacy of the arrangements under Article 37-1(7) and
(8) of the LFS, Article 13(4) of the Law of 5 August 2005 on financial collateral arrangements, as amended, and Section 2 of Chapter 1 of the MiFID GDR.
9. The purpose of the MiFID report is to assess the reliability of the answers provided by an
investment firm in the SAQ in relation to the protection of financial instruments and funds belonging to clients.
10. The authorised management of the investment firm is responsible for providing the REA with
the required information in the SAQ for the drafting of the descriptive parts of the MiFID report.
11. The structure of the MiFID report shall follow the structure of the relevant section of the SAQ
on the protection of financial instruments and funds belonging to clients.
12. The REA shall include in the MiFID report the descriptive elements provided by the
investment firm’s authorised management in the SAQ.
13. In this context, the REA shall (including on the reconciliation process of financial instruments
and funds belonging to clients):
a. verify and ensure that these elements are correct and adequate; b. assess the appropriateness of the description provided by the investment firm; and
c. perform appropriate control procedures to corroborate assertions set forth by the
investment firm in the SAQ.
Where applicable, the REA shall supplement the descriptive elements by items s/he deems appropriate. Where a specific item does not apply to the investment firm, the REA shall explicitly state it under the item concerned.
14. The REA shall describe the work performed and the findings, if any, and, where applicable,
provide additional information on the aspects of the SAQ.
15. The MiFID report must be uploaded through a CSSF digital solution.
4.3. The AML/CFT report
16. The AML/CFT report shall describe the procedures set up by the investment firm concerning
the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing as required for compliance with or as defined in:
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 8/15 2015/84712);Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets and amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 (Regulation (EU) 2023/1113)
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 9/15 by the REA of the three-lines-of-defence model, as defined in Article 39(7) of RCSSF 12- 02;
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 10/15
20. The AML/CFT report must be sufficiently exhaustive and transparent, providing detailed
descriptions and assessments, in order to allow a precise and informed judgement on the risks incurred by the investment firm with respect to money laundering and terrorist financing. With regard to the language used for the assessments, the AML/CFT report shall not include imprecise negative formulations (e.g. “We did not encounter serious weaknesses”) or global and approximative assessments (e.g. “We noted that most of the points comply with the laws and regulations”). The AML/CFT report shall rather provide a positive assessment for each area and subject by providing an overview of the adopted methodology (e.g. use of the sample technique, method for selecting the sample, etc.) and, where applicable, provide a description of the identified findings in order to allow the CSSF to better understand and judge the extent of the noticed irregularities and weaknesses.
21. The REA shall also perform the follow-up to the findings observed during the previous audits
and described in detail in the previous AML/CFT report.
22. The REA shall provide a description of any potential issues in relation to AML/CFT the
investment firm may have with foreign competent authorities.
23. The authorised management of the investment firm is responsible for providing the REA with
the required information for the drafting of the descriptive parts of the AML/CFT report. The REA may include in its report descriptive elements directly provided by the investment firm’s authorised management, but s/he shall verify and ensure that these elements are correct and adequate. If needed, s/he may have to perform some amendments.
24. In addition to the descriptive parts, the REA shall perform independently a detailed
assessment of the ML/FT risks to which the investment firm is exposed as well as of the organisational aspects. This assessment shall be duly documented.
25. It should be noted that the REA must also inform the CSSF of all the suspicious transactions
reported pursuant to Article 5 of the AML/CFT Law, and which concern the investment firm. Similarly, the REA must inform the CSSF in case they deem that the investment firm should have reported a suspicious transaction but has not, explaining their reasoning and having regard to the investment firm’s rationale. When discussing the cases with the investment firm, the REA needs to be mindful of applicable professional obligations.
26. The AML/CFT report must be uploaded through a CSSF digital solution.
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 11/15
5. Submission procedures
5.1. SAQ
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 12/15
6. Final provisions
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 13/15
Annex I: Overview of the SAQ sections and the level of application of each section
Section Description Level of application
Internal governance
1.a. Governance - Management body and key function holders Overview of the composition of the management body and key function holders and of the allocation of role and responsibilities within the investment firm. on an individual basis, excluding branches, if any. 1.b. Governance - Internal governance arrangements Overview of the organisation and functioning of the management body, of the internal control functions, of the financial and accounting function and IT function as well as internal governance arrangements pertaining to the code of conduct, the management of conflicts of interest, the remuneration policy of the investment firm. on an individual basis, excluding branches, if any. MiFID 2.a. MiFID internal control framework Overview of internal control framework regarding MiFID implemented by the investment firm, taking into account the MiFID investment activities effectively carried out and MiFID service effectively provided by the investment firm. on an individual basis, excluding branches, if any. 2.b. MiFID Protection of financial instruments and funds belonging to clients Overview of the arrangements put in place by the investment firm to ensure the safeguarding of client financial instruments and funds. on an individual basis, including branches, if any. 2.c. MiFID - Portfolio managers, tied agents, business providers, representation offices and free provision of services. Overview of the portfolio managers, tied agents, business providers, representation offices as well as of the free provision of services by the investment firm within the territory of another member country of the EEA. on an individual basis, excluding branches, if any.
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 14/15
Section Description Level of application
Other topics
3. Table listing the claims
Overview of the claims registered by the investment firm during the financial year in accordance with CSSF Regulation No 16-07 relating to out-of-court complaint resolution and Circular CSSF 17/671. on an individual basis, including branches, if any.
4. Foreign branches
Overview of the foreign branches, including a description of how corporate, commercial and risk group policies are applied in the foreign branches, as well as an overview of the controls in place. Foreign branches located in another Member State or in a third country.
5. Related parties
Overview of the internal control framework in place in connection with related parties. on an individual basis, including branches, if any.
6. Recommendations or observations raised
Overview of the recommendations and/or observations raised by the REA or internal control functions, if any. on an individual basis, including branches, if any and subsidiaries (in case of prudential consolidation) if any.
CIRCULAR CSSF 24/853 as amended by Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904 15/15
Annex II: Overview of the scope of application of Circular CSSF 24/853 as amended by
Circulars CSSF 25/870 and 26/904
Questionnaire / Report required
Full Scope IF Partial Scope IF
SAQ Required Required
AUP report Required Exempted
MiFID report Required Required
AML/CFT report Required Required
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This document amends: Circular CSSF 25/870 amending Circular CSSF 24/853 on the revised long form report for investment firms
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