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Date Ref. Title Section Type Download Info Summary Related Documents Translated versions
28/03/2011 2011/22 Report- ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported- July 2010 to December 2010 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
134.79 KB
12/01/2012 2012/3 Annual report on the application of the Regulation on credit rating agencies as provided by Article 21(5) and Article 39a of the Regulation (EU) No 1060/2009 as amended by Regulation No 1095/2010 Credit Rating Agencies Final Report PDF
141.98 KB		 This is the first report under the new CRA regulation, however, please note that CESR published a report about the application of the Regulation in the EU and, in particular, on the implementation of the requirements established in Annex I of the Regulation on 6 December 2010 (CESR/10-1424), according to Article 21(4) of the Regulation which was subsequently amended by Regulation No (EC) 513/2011. At the time of publication, 16 CRA's have been registered.
22/03/2012 2012/207 ESMA’s Report on the Supervision of Credit Rating Agencies Credit Rating Agencies Final Report PDF
323.81 KB		 This report provides an overview of ESMA’s supervisory activity on Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) registered in the European Union and summarises the results of ESMA’s first examination of the three groups of registered CRAs (Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Services, and Standard & Poor's Rating Services). The examination referred to in this document is the first step in an ongoing supervisory process conducted by ESMA and therefore does not represent a full scope investigation. The observations set forth in this Report refer to common issues affecting CRAs activities. As of the date of this document, ESMA has not determined whether any observation highlighted below constitutes a breach of the provisions of the Regulation. ESMA is still progressing in its assessment of the areas discussed in this Report. This Report is not based on a decision by ESMA’s Board of Supervisors; therefore it is published without prejudice to the possibility of further investigations which could lead to enforcement or supervisory actions.
22/06/2012 2012/382 MiFID Q&A in the area of investor protection and intermediaries MiFID - Investor Protection Q&A PDF
319.78 KB
06/07/2012 2012/387 Final report Guidelines on certain aspects of the MiFID suitability requirements Guidelines and Technical standards, MiFID - Investor Protection Final Report PDF
444.15 KB
26/07/2012 2012/482 Review of Greek Government Bonds accounting practices Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Final Report PDF
583.61 KB

This report includes a Review of Greek Government Bonds accounting practices in the IFRS Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2011.
16/08/2012 2012/525 Summary of responses on considerations of materiality in financial reporting Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Final Report PDF
383.4 KB
25/09/2012 2012/602 ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported- January 2011 to December 2011 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
573.49 KB
25/09/2012 2012/603 ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported- January 2012 to June 2012 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
431.12 KB		 NOTE: This Report is an amended version of the Report published on 25 September 2012. The previously published Report was amended on 15 May 2013 following the discovery of factual errors in the statis-tical information in Section III.2.   Title ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported - January 2012 to June 2012
14/02/2013 2013/218 Considerations of materiality in financial reporting Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Final Report PDF
446.95 KB
18/03/2013 2013/308 Annual report on the application of the Regulation on credit rating agencies- 2012 Credit Rating Agencies Final Report PDF
601.08 KB		 This is the second annual report on the application of the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. 
10/06/2013 2013/619 Comparison of liability regimes in Member States in relation to the Prospectus Directive Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
596.91 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a report on the Comparison of liability regimes in Member States in relation to the Prospectus Directive.   This is the first report of its kind and provides a comparison of liability regimes covering the EEA – comprising the 27 EU Member States along with Iceland and Norway and is aimed at providing clarity for market participants about the different regimes in place. The report contains an overview of the different arrangements and frameworks in place in  EEA States to address administrative, criminal, civil and governmental liability, and provides clarity to market participants about the different regimes in place. The report was compiled in response to a European Commission request of January 2011 for assistance in identifying and monitoring the different regimes in EEA states.   The report does not cover how the regimes, or sanctions, are applied.    Report Comparison of liability regimes in Member States in relation to the Prospectus Directive Annex II Comparative table of responses from EEA States Annex III Individual responses from EEA States
14/06/2013 2013/741 ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported—January 2012 to December 2012 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
457.11 KB		 The report compiles statistical data regarding the number of prospectuses approved and passported by National Competent Authorities in the period from January 2012 to December 2012 (with a quarterly disclosure).
18/11/2013 2013/1664 Review of Accounting Practices- Comparability of IFRS Financial Statements of Financial Institutions in Europe Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
1.3 MB		 This report provides an overview of accounting practices of financial institutions in Europe in selected areas related to financial instruments. It evaluates the level of comparability and quality of the disclosures in the 2012 IFRS financial statements of a sample of 39 major European financial institutions and includes recommendations to enhance the transparency of financial information through the application of the IFRS provisions. Transparent financial information plays a key role in maintaining market confidence, improving markets’ efficiency by allowing investors to identify risks in a timely manner, contributing to financial stability and is a pre-requisite in creating premises for sound economic growth. As an effect of market turbulences resulting from the financial crisis, transparency and comparability of the financial statements of financial institutions have gained increased importance for market participants. In this context, ESMA has intensified its reviewing activities, with an increased focus on the financial statements of financial institutions and together with EBA and ESRB has undertaken further initiatives to improve the level of confidence in the financial sector by asking financial institutions to provide better disclosure of financial and risk information in financial reporting. Overall ESMA found that disclosures specifically covered by requirements of IFRS 7 – Financial Instru-ments: Disclosures were generally provided and acknowledges the efforts made by financial institutions to improve the quality of their financial statements. Yet, ESMA observed a wide variability in the quality of the information provided and identified some cases where the information provided was not sufficient or not sufficiently structured to allow comparability among financial institutions. Some financial institutions provided disclosures that were not specific enough, lacked links between quantitative and narrative information, or provided disclosures that could not be reconciled to the primary financial statements. ESMA urges issuers to take a step back and consider the overall objectives of IFRS 7 against their specific circumstances when preparing disclosures. When information was provided outside financial statements (e.g. in a risk report or business review), in some cases it was unclear whether it was incorporated by reference. In general, users of financial infor-mation would benefit if information provided in different sections of the financial report were linked to each other and if information provided across these reports was consistent or major differences in bases used to provide this information were explained.
02/12/2013 2013/1775 Sovereign ratings investigation- ESMA’s assessment of governance, conflicts of interest, resourcing adequacy and confidentiality controls Credit Rating Agencies Final Report PDF
302.99 KB		 This report summarises the findings of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) general investigation into sovereign credit ratings issued by Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s which took place between February and October 2013, as indicated in its Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) 2013 Supervision and Policy Work Plan. In this report ESMA describes the observed deficiencies and main concerns while also identifying a number of good practices in the following areas: • the role of senior management and other non-rating functions in the rating process and the actual or potential conflicts of interest which could arise; • the actual or potential conflicts of interests generated by the involvement of sovereign analysts in research and publication activities; • confidentiality of sovereign rating information and controls in place prior to publication of ratings (including IT and access controls to confidential information); • timing of publication of sovereign ratings, including timely disclosure of rating changes; • monitoring of the adequacy and expertise of resources dedicated to sovereign ratings; • preparation of rating committees; and • definitions of roles and responsibilities among different analytical functions. ESMA’s investigation revealed shortcomings in the sovereign ratings process which could pose risks to the quality, independence and integrity of the ratings and of the rating process. As of the date of this document, ESMA has not determined whether any of the observations made in this report constitute serious indications of the possible existence of facts liable to constitute one or more infringements of the CRA Regulation.
18/12/2013 2013/1943 ESMA Data on Prospectuses Approved and Passported—January 2013 to June 2013 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
338.17 KB
21/02/2014 2014/151 Credit Rating Agencies Annual Report 2013 Credit Rating Agencies Final Report PDF
507.61 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its Annual Report 2013 (Report) on credit rating agencies (CRAs) in the European Union (EU). The Report also outlines ESMA’s supervisory work plan for this year. ESMA has found that CRAs continue to progress in how they comply with the CRA Regulation, including improved internal transparency and disclosure to the market on credit rating activities as well as empowerment of the compliance function. However, ESMA considers that improvements are still necessary, notably in the following areas: • validation of rating methodologies, to ensure that a credit rating assessment is a comprehensive risk assessment leading to high quality ratings; • internal governance, ensuring the full independence of the internal review function and thereby reducing the risk of potential conflict of interest; and • robust IT systems to support the rating process, including information security controls and protection of confidential rating information. These issues form the basis for much of ESMA’s supervision activities as outlined in its 2014 work plan. This includes the completion of the two on-going supervisory reviews into CRAs’ monitoring of structured finance ratings and into small and medium-sized CRAs. A new thematic investigation on how CRAs review and validate their rating methodologies will also be launched, as well as dedicated work on CRAs’ IT systems and controls. Following the entry into force of the amended CRA Regulation in June 2013, ESMA will also complete a specific assessment on CRAs’ compliance with the new regulatory requirements.
01/04/2014 2014/342 Languages accepted for the purpose of the scrutiny of the Prospectus and requirements of translation of the Summary- March 2014 Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure Final Report PDF
194.98 KB		 The document provides an overview of the languages that each national competent authority accepts when acting as home or host competent authority, as the case may be, for the purpose of the scrutiny of the prospectus. In addition the document outlines national requirements in relation to translation of summaries.
23/05/2014 2014/551 IFRS Enforcement in Europe in 2013 Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Final Report PDF
694.9 KB
16/06/2014 2014/643 Review on the application of accounting requirements for business combinations in IFRS financial statements Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Final Report PDF
751.04 KB

This report evaluates the consistency of application of key requirements of IFRS 3 - Business Combinations and how compliant and entity-specific IFRS 3 disclosures are in the 2012 annual IFRS financial statements of a sample of 56 issuers in the European Union (EU). It also includes other IFRS 3 issues identified as part of the enforcement experience of European national enforcers (European Enforcers) that participate in the European Enforcers Coordination Sessions (EECS).

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