On 30 May 2018, the European Commission published a draft Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 231/2013 as regards safe-keeping duties of depositaries.

The purpose of the draft Delegated Regulation is to modify Delegated Regulation (EU) No 231/2013 which supplements the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). Article 99 of the Delegated Regulation has been interpreted by some as requiring separate accounts per depositary and per type of fund to be created at each level of the custody chain. However, the draft Delegated Regulation clarifies that assets of UCITS, alternative investment funds and other clients can be comingled at the level of the first custodian provided that they are initially held by the same depositary (or are initially held by the same custodian where the latter further delegates the custody of assets down the custody chain).

The deadline for comments on the draft Delegated Regulation is 26 June 2018.