Monthly Dose of Germany: February 2026

Article by Alireza Siadat, published in Börsen-Zeitung on 16 December 2025 Optimism in the U.S. digital  asset market, coupled with the relaxation of the Digital Ledger Technology Pilot Regime  (DLT), will revolutionize  securities trading.

Authors: Klaus Gresbrand, Lorena Roșia

Contracts Operate, our contract management  outsourcing service, emerged  from Deloitte Legal Central  Europe’s proven track record of  delivering outsourced  contracting services internally  within the Deloitte network.  With impressive cost saving  starting from 20-30% just by  changing the location of the  team working on your  contracts, the increasing  market traction in off-shoring  contract management to  Central Europe is no surprise - and promises great benefits to  your organization as well.

Authors: Dr. Hannes Bracht, Nauar Kaumi

The disclosure requirements  apply to acquisitions, transfers,  mergers and divisions.

The European legislator introduced new approval  processes and notification  procedures for CRR credit  institutions and (mixed)  financial holding companies  for specific M&A transactions  in Article 27a et seq. of the  CRD VI Directive (Directive  (EU) 2024/1619). The German  legislator is currently  implementing these  requirements in the German  Banking Act (KWG) with the  Banking Directive  Implementation and  Bureaucracy Relief Act  (BRUBEG) which was passed  on 29 January 2026. The  European Banking Authority  (EBA) published a consultation paper on regulatory/implementing  technical standards prior to  this and proposes  specifications for the minimum  disclosures to be  submitted during these  procedures. 

Authors: Frank Tschentscher, Torsten Cülter, Christina Wöste

The European business restructuring and insolvency landscape continues to evolve  rapidly amid persistent  macroeconomic and  geopolitical challenges. While  the lingering effects of the  post-pandemic recovery and  ongoing tensions remain,  enterprises now contend with  inflationary pressures, supply  chain vulnerabilities, energy  market instability, accelerated  digital transformation, and  escalating climate-related  risks. 

Since the previous edition of  this European Insolvency  Guide, the regulatory  framework has undergone  substantive  advancements. This updated  edition of the European  Insolvency Guide draws on  insights from Deloitte Legal  practitioners across 23  jurisdictions, offering  comprehensive analysis of  national regimes alongside  emerging EU-level trends.

As legal departments continue to evolve in response to  growing business demands  and digital transformation, the  concept of a “Legal Front  Door” has emerged as a  strategic enabler. It serves as  the centralized entry point for  legal requests, helping teams  manage intake, triage, and  workflows more efficiently. But  designing the right Legal  Front Door is not a one-size- fits-all exercise. What works  well for one organization may  not be the best choice for  another. 

Authors: Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Klaus Heeke, Elisa Ultsch

The implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive 2023/970/EU, EUPTD) into German law is still pending, with a first draft of the German implementation law expected in the first quarter of 2026. The Commission appointed by the German Federal Government to implement the EUPTD into German law with as little bureaucracy as possible published its final report dated 24 October 2025 on 7 November 2025. This Client Alert summarises the key findings from the final report for the further legislative process. 

Authors:  Johannes T. Passas, Dennis Buschmann, Felicitas Wolf

With the implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/1226, the  German legislator significantly  tightens the individual and corporate consequences for  sanctions violations and  compels companies to  critically review the adequacy  and effectiveness of their  existing ICP structures. 

Authors: Dr. Lars Hinrichs, Leonie Scharwächter, Elisa Ultsch, Katharina Gohlke, Katja Sartori-Röthke

The final version of the law was preceded by the draft bill  of 22 August 2025 (RefE), the  government draft of 10  October 2025 (RegE 1.0),  the recommendations of the  Finance Committee and the  Economic Committee dated 7  November 2025, the opinion of  the Bundesrat dated 21  November 2025 and the  updated government draft  dated 3 December 2025 (RegE  2.0). In this Client Alert, we  summarise the key provisions  of the version of the BRUBEG  passed by the Bundestag on  remuneration systems and  remuneration governance,  together with the  accompanying amendments  to the German Ordinance for  Remuneration Systems,  (Instituts- Vergütungsverordnung, Institu tsVergV (IVV 5.0)) and the  German Banking Act  (Kreditwesengesetz, KWG  (KWG 2026)).