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20/07/2011 2011/224 Consultation paper- Guidelines on systems and controls in a highly automated trading environment for trading platforms, investment firms and competent authorities MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
623.6 KB
20/07/2011 2011/223 Press release- ESMA consults on systems and controls for highly automated trading Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
57.39 KB
09/12/2011 2011/431 Global regulators discuss OTC derivatives regulation Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
18.94 KB		 Leaders and senior representatives of the authorities responsible for the regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets in Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Statesmet met yesterday in Paris.  
22/12/2011 2011/457 ESMA outlines future automated trading regime for trading platforms, investment firms and competent authorities Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
151.9 KB
24/02/2012 2012/128 ESMA readies guidelines on automated trading – application deadline starts Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
167.16 KB		 ESMA today publishes the official translations of its final “Guidelines on systems and controls in an automated trading environment for trading platforms, investment firms and competent authorities” (ESMA/2011/456), first published on 21 December 2011. High Frequency Trading (HFT) is one form of automated trading.   By having translated the guidelines into all the official languages of the EU, today’s publication triggers a transitional period of two months within which national supervisors have to declare whether they intend to comply with the guidelines or otherwise explain the reasons for non-compliance which would be made public by ESMA. According to the ESMA Regulation national supervisors have to make every effort to comply with the Guidelines.
11/01/2013 2013/12 Principles for Benchmarks-Setting Processes in the EU Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors Consultation Paper PDF
259.33 KB
11/01/2013 2013/13 ESMA and the EBA take action to strengthen Euribor and benchmark rate-setting processes Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors, Press Releases Press Release PDF
207.75 KB
14/02/2013 2013/215 ESMA issues first risk report on EU securities markets Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors, Press Releases Press Release PDF
99.25 KB
06/06/2013 2013/684 ESMA and the EBA publish final principles on benchmarks Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors, Press Releases, Benchmarks Press Release PDF
125.48 KB
20/09/2013 2013/1324 ESMA TRV: market conditions improve, as systemic risks persist Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors Press Release PDF
149.46 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published today its Trends, Risks, Vulnerabilities (TRV) Report and a Risk Dashboard for the second quarter of 2013. The TRV examines the performance of securities markets in the first half of 2013, assessing both trends and risks in order to develop a comprehensive picture of systemic and macro-prudential risks in the EU, to assist both national and EU bodies in their risk assessments. ESMA’s TRV contributes to promoting financial stability and enhancing consumer protection by regularly looking into cross-border and cross-sector trends, risks and vulnerabilities, both at the wholesale and retail level. The TRV finds that EU securities markets and investment conditions in the EU have improved for a second quarter in a row since the 4th quarter of 2012, although systemic risk persisted at medium to high levels. Amongst other risk factors, uncertainty remained high due to concerns over funding sources, low interest rates and recent market fluctuations, resulting in increased market risk, while liquidity, credit and contagion risk continue to be significant. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said: “While the easing of stress in financial markets is a positive sign, systemic risks in the EU remain high and uncertainty in the international market environment has risen. Valuations in securities markets, volatility in fund flows, and continuity issues around financial benchmarks remain a matter of concern. Faced with these issues regulators and market participants should remain vigilant. “ESMA’s work on identifying those risks facing Europe’s securities markets is an important component in the European System of Financial Supervision’s efforts to foster recovery in its markets and promote financial stability.” The TRV identifies the following key trends for the first half of 2013 in EU securities markets: • Securities markets: market conditions improved moderately while issuance was subdued with equity prices declining and inter-bank lending increasing. The second quarter saw an increase in sovereign borrowing costs, and corporate bonds; covered bonds and securitised products were subdued; • Collective investments: asset managers benefited from improved market conditions, mainly driven by bond, equity or alternative funds whereas money market fund assets decreased. Overall, leverage remained moderate but capital inflows were volatile reflecting a decline in investor sentiment; and • Market infrastructures: trading on EU venues increased in early 2013. Central clearing of interest rate swaps continued to grow. Potential continuity issues around financial benchmarks give rise to concerns. Key risks identified in the Report, and published separately in the Risk Dashboard, include: • Liquidity risk: even though policy action helped to reduce liquidity risks in main market segments, others rose, leaving the overall liquidity risk at high levels; • Credit risk: securities markets in the EU saw a reduction in issuance volumes, mainly in asset classes with higher risk and longer maturities. Despite recent debt refinancing, overall credit risk remains high; • Market risk: equity and bond markets risks increased driven by rising concerns over the valuation of assets; and • Contagion risk: the risk of contagion between market segments remained unchanged, while the level of credit default swap exposures declined. In addition, the TRV presents in-depth analyses on four specific topics: • First evidence on the impact of the Short-Selling Regulation on securities markets; • Contagion risks and the network structure of EU CDS exposures; • Overview of the EU UCITS industry; and • Overview of bail-in and contingent capital securities. Next steps As part of its on-going market surveillance, ESMA publishes its TRV semi-annually, complemented by its quarterly risk dashboard.
22/05/2014 2014/548 Discussion Paper on MiFID II/MiFIR MiFID - Investor Protection, MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
6.2 MB		 This publication is the first step in the process of translating the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules and regulations to address the effects of the financial crisis and to improve financial market transparency and strengthen investor protection.MiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes that will have a large impact on the EU’s financial markets, these include transparency requirements for a broader range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on-exchange; requirements on algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. It will also strengthen protection for retail investors through limits on the use of commissions; conditions for the provision of independent investment advice; stricter organisational requirements for product design and distribution; product intervention powers; and the disclosure of costs and charges.Responding to this paperThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Discussion Paper.Please use this “form to reply”.The level 1 texts adopted by the European Council during its 13 May 2014 meeting are available here: MiFID II and MiFIR. These links are from the Council Press Release.
22/05/2014 2014/549 Consultation Paper on MiFID II/MiFIR MiFID - Investor Protection, MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
2.03 MB		 This publication is the first step in the process of translating the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules and regulations to address the effects of the financial crisis and to improve financial market transparency and strengthen investor protection.MiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes that will have a large impact on the EU’s financial markets, these include transparency requirements for a broader range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on-exchange; requirements on algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. It will also strengthen protection for retail investors through limits on the use of commissions; conditions for the provision of independent investment advice; stricter organisational requirements for product design and distribution; product intervention powers; and the disclosure of costs and charges.Responding to this paperThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper.Please use this “form to reply”.The level 1 texts adopted by the European Council during its 13 May 2014 meeting are available here: MiFID II and MiFIR. These links are coming from the Council Press Release.
22/05/2014 2014/557 ESMA consults on MiFID reforms MiFID - Investor Protection, Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
119.33 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched the consultation process for the implementation of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR). This is the first step in the process of translating the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules and regulations to address the effects of the financial crisis and to improve financial market transparency and strengthen investor protection.MiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes that will have a large impact on the EU’s financial markets, these include transparency requirements for a broader range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on-exchange; requirements on algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. It will also strengthen protection for retail investors through limits on the use of commissions; conditions for the provision of independent investment advice; stricter organisational requirements for product design and distribution; product intervention powers; and the disclosure of costs and charges.MiFID II/MiFIR contains over 100 requirements for ESMA to draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and Implementing Technical Standards (ITS), and to provide Technical Advice to the European Commission to allow it to adopt delegated acts. In order to ensure that MIFID II achieves its objectives in practice, ESMA is publishing the following documents:1.    Consultation Paper on MiFID/MiFIR Technical Advice – ESMA needs to deliver this advice to the European Commission by December 2014 and is therefore subject to a condensed consultation process for this paper; and2.    Discussion Paper on MiFID/MiFIR draft RTS/ITS – this will provide the basis for a further consultation paper on the draft RTS/ITS which is expected to be issued in late 2014/early 2015. The closing date for responses to both papers is Friday 1 August. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said:“The launch of today’s MiFID II/MiFIR consultation process is an important step in the biggest overhaul of financial markets regulation in the EU for a decade. The reform of MiFID is an integral part of the EU’s strategy to address the effects of the financial crisis and aims to bring greater transparency to markets and to strengthen investor protection. These changes are key to restoring trust in our financial markets.“We appreciate the magnitude of this exercise for stakeholders. We strongly encourage all those affected by these reforms to provide their views to ensure that we take them into account in our final proposals.”The main issues covered in the Discussion and Consultation Paper are divided into those addressing the structure, transparency and regulation of financial markets, and those aimed at strengthening investor protection.Financial Markets Structure, Transparency and RegulationThe main proposals in this area cover the following issues: enhanced transparency and trading obligations - increasing pre- and post-trade transparency for many categories of instruments, e.g. shares, ETFs, certificates, bonds and derivatives, limitations to trade shares OTC and new obligations to trade derivatives on trading venues; micro-structural issues – refining the definition of high frequency trading and direct electronic access and specifying the requirements for operating in the market using algorithmic techniques; data publication and access – issues related to the development of the consolidated tape including requirements for tape providers, approved publication arrangements and reporting mechanisms, and the definition of a reasonable commercial basis for data sales; and the access to CCPs,  trading venues and benchmarks; other organisational requirements for trading venues; and commodity derivatives – new regulatory tools, including position limits. Investor ProtectionThe main proposals relating to the improved protection of retail investors include technical advice on: inducements – new limitations on the receipt of commissions (inducements); independent advice – clearly distinguishing independent from non-independent advice; product governance – requirements on the manufacture and distribution of financial products including target market and risk identification; product intervention/banning - introducing powers for both ESMA and national regulators to prohibit or restrict the marketing and distribution of certain financial instruments; and improved information on costs and charges – requirements to provide clients with details of all charges related to their investment (relating to both the investment service and the financial instrument provided) so they can understand the overall cost and its effect on their investment’s return. In addition, the draft regulatory technical standards in the investor protection area relate to the authorisation of investment firms, passporting, and certain best execution obligations.Next StepsESMA will hold three public hearings about secondary markets, investor protection and commodity derivatives issues on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 July. Further details on the hearings will be published on ESMA’s website. 2014/548 2014/549
29/09/2014 2014/1191 ESMA Management Board Election Results Corporate Information, Management Board, Board of Supervisors, Press Releases Press Release PDF
90.35 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority has elected three new members to its Management Board to replace outgoing members whose term will expire in October this year. The election took place at the Board of Supervisors meeting in Rome on 25 September and the successful candidates, who will serve a term of 2½ years beginning on the 1 November 2014, are: • Cyril Roux, Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), Ireland – new member; • Gérard Rameix, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), France – ending first term and re-elected; and • Marek Szuszkiewicz, Komisja Nadzoru Finanswego (KNF), Poland – new member.
29/09/2014 2014/1188 Consultation paper on draft Implementing Technical Standards on main indices and recognised exchanges under the Capital Requirements Regulation MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
568.07 KB		 Responding to this paper The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites comments on all matters set out in this consultation paper and, in particular, on the specific questions listed in Annex 1. Comments are most helpful if they: ·         indicate the number of the question to which the comment relates; ·         respond to the question stated; ·         contain a clear rationale, including on any related costs and benefits; and ·         describe any alternatives ESMA should consider. Comments should reach us by November 1st 2014. All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’. Publication of responses  All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly and prominently indicate in your submission any part you do not wish to be publically disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from us in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. We may consult you if we receive such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman. Data protection  Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu by following the link ‘Data protection’. Who should read this paper? All interested stakeholders are invited to respond to this consultation paper. It will primarily be of interest to credit institutions and investment firms who need to calculate their credit risk exposure under the Capital Requirements Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of 26 June 2013.
29/09/2014 2014/1189 Consultation paper on draft guidelines on the application of C6 and C7 of Annex I of MiFID MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
420.06 KB
19/12/2014 2014/1570 Consultation paper on MiFID II/MiFIR- part 1 MiFID - Investor Protection, MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
6.55 MB		 Who should read this paper? This document will be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the securities markets. It is primarily of interest to competent authorities and firms that are subject to MiFID II and MiFIR – in particular, investment firms, credit institutions performing investment services and activities, data reporting services providers and trading venues. This paper is also important for trade associations and industry bodies, institutional and retail investors and their advisers, and consumer groups, as well as any market participant because the MiFID II and MiFIR requirements seek to implement enhanced provisions to ensure investor protection and the transparency and orderly running of financial markets with potential impacts for anyone engaged in the dealing with or processing of financial instruments. Responding to this paper The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper. Please note that ESMA will only be able to consider responses received using this “form to reply” and complying with the procedure below. a)    InstructionsPlease note that, in order to facilitate analysis of the large number of responses expected, ESMA will be using an IT tool that does not allow processing of responses which do not follow the formatting indications described below. Therefore, in responding stakeholders should:i.    use the published template and send their responses in Word format (pdf documents will not be considered except for annexes); ii.    not remove the tags of type - i.e. the response to one question has to be framed by the 2 tags corresponding to the question; andiii.    if they have no response to a question, not delete it and leave the text “TYPE YOUR TEXT HERE” between the tags. b)    Naming protocolIn order to facilitate the handling of stakeholders responses please save your document using the following format:ESMA_MiFID2_CP_NAMEOFCOMPANY_NAMEOFDOCUMENT: e.g. if the respondent were ESMA, the name of the reply form would be ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_REPLYFORM or ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_ANNEX1 c)    Content of the responses Responses are most helpful:i.    if they respond to the question stated;ii.    contain a clear rationale; andiii.    describe any alternatives that ESMA should consider. Given the breadth of issues covered, ESMA expects and encourages respondents to specifically answer those questions relevant to their business, interest and experience. d)    Deadline Responses must reach us by 2 March 2015. All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’. Publication of responses All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly indicate by ticking the appropriate checkbox in the website submission form if you do not wish your contribution to be publicly disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from ESMA in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. ESMA may consult respondents if ESMA receives such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman. Data protection Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the headings ‘Legal notice’ and ‘Data protection’.
19/12/2014 2014/1570 Annex B Consultation paper on MiFID II/MiFIR- Annex B MiFID - Investor Protection, MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
2.78 MB		 Who should read this paper? This document will be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the securities markets. It is primarily of interest to competent authorities and firms that are subject to MiFID II and MiFIR – in particular, investment firms, credit institutions performing investment services and activities, data reporting services providers and trading venues. This paper is also important for trade associations and industry bodies, institutional and retail investors and their advisers, and consumer groups, as well as any market participant because the MiFID II and MiFIR requirements seek to implement enhanced provisions to ensure investor protection and the transparency and orderly running of financial markets with potential impacts for anyone engaged in the dealing with or processing of financial instruments. Responding to this paper The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper. Please note that ESMA will only be able to consider responses received using this “form to reply” and complying with the procedure below. a)    InstructionsPlease note that, in order to facilitate analysis of the large number of responses expected, ESMA will be using an IT tool that does not allow processing of responses which do not follow the formatting indications described below. Therefore, in responding stakeholders should:i.    use the published template and send their responses in Word format (pdf documents will not be considered except for annexes); ii.    not remove the tags of type - i.e. the response to one question has to be framed by the 2 tags corresponding to the question; andiii.    if they have no response to a question, not delete it and leave the text “TYPE YOUR TEXT HERE” between the tags. b)    Naming protocolIn order to facilitate the handling of stakeholders responses please save your document using the following format:ESMA_MiFID2_CP_NAMEOFCOMPANY_NAMEOFDOCUMENT: e.g. if the respondent were ESMA, the name of the reply form would be ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_REPLYFORM or ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_ANNEX1 c)    Content of the responses Responses are most helpful:i.    if they respond to the question stated;ii.    contain a clear rationale; andiii.    describe any alternatives that ESMA should consider. Given the breadth of issues covered, ESMA expects and encourages respondents to specifically answer those questions relevant to their business, interest and experience. d)    Deadline Responses must reach us by 2 March 2015. All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’. Publication of responses All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly indicate by ticking the appropriate checkbox in the website submission form if you do not wish your contribution to be publicly disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from ESMA in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. ESMA may consult respondents if ESMA receives such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman. Data protection Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the headings ‘Legal notice’ and ‘Data protection’.
19/12/2014 2014/1574 ESMA provides implementing rules for MiFID II MiFID - Investor Protection, Press Releases, MiFID - Secondary Markets Press Release PDF
110.55 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published today its final technical advice (TA) and launches a consultation on its draft regulatory technical and implementing standards (RTS/ ITS) regarding the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR). Both ESMA’s TA and draft RTS translate the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules for market participants and national supervisors. The new regulatory framework aims at ensuring that secondary markets are fair, transparent and safe and that investors’ interests are safeguarded when being sold investment products. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said:“Today’s implementing rules on both secondary markets and investor protection issues reflect ESMA’s desire to achieve the best outcome for market users and investors, taking into account the extensive submissions received from our stakeholders. The advice now goes to the European Commission to use in preparation of its delegated legislation, while our technical standards are open for a second round of consultation. “Once fully implemented, MiFID II will have a significant impact on the EU’s securities markets, its users and infrastructure providers. It will bring greater transparency and improve the overall functioning of markets thus strengthening investors’ trust in the financial sector.”MiFID II to include most financial instruments, trading venues and techniquesMiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes to the functioning of secondary markets, including transparency requirements for a broad range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on trading venues; requirements for algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. The key proposals stemming from ESMA’s TA/draft RTS cover the following issues: •    increased trade transparency, for non-equity instruments, in particular bonds, derivatives, structured finance products and emission allowances;•    a trading obligation for shares and a double volume cap mechanism for shares and equity-like instruments, introducing a major change to the framework for trading these instruments in the Union;•    an obligation to trade derivatives on MiFID venues (regulated markets, multilateral (MTFs) or organised trading facilities (OTFs)) only, in line with G20 requirements;•    newly introduced position limits and reporting requirements for commodity derivatives;•    rules governing high frequency trading, imposing a strict set of organisational requirements on investment firms and trading venues;•    provisions regulating access to central counterparties (CCPs), trading venues and benchmarks, designed to increase competition in the Union; and•    requirements for a consolidated tape of trading data, including rules for tape providers, reporting,  publication and sales of data.MiFID II to improve investor protection ESMA’s TA proposes that the Commission adopts a number of measures that will further the protection of investors across the EU. The main proposals relating to the improved protection of investors, especially retail, include:•    clarifications about the circumstances in which portfolio managers can receive research from third parties;•    clarifications under which circumstances inducements meet the quality enhancement requirement for the provision of advice;•    requirements for investment firms manufacturing and/or distributing financial instruments and structured deposits to have product governance arrangements in place in order to assess the robustness of their manufacture and/or distribution;•    requirements for firms to provide clients with details of all costs and charges related to their investment, including cost aggregations, the timing of disclosure (ex-ante and ex-post); information to non-retail clients; the scope of firms subject to this obligation; information on the cumulative effect of costs on the return; •    organisational requirements for firms providing investments advice on an independent basis; and•    specification of powers for ESMA and national regulators with regards to prohibiting or restricting the marketing and distribution of financial instruments. Next stepsThe TA has been finalised following extensive consultations with stakeholders and will now be sent to the European Commission. ESMA’s draft RTS/ITS, already previously consulted upon, are open for public comment until 2 March 2015. In addition, an open hearing will be held in Paris on 19 February 2015. ESMA will use the input received from the consultations to finalise its draft RTS which will be sent for endorsement to the European Commission by mid-2015, its ITS by January 2016. MiFID II/ MiFIR and its implementing measures will be applicable from 3 January 2017.
22/12/2014 2014/1570 Annex A Consultation Paper – Annex A- High level cost-benefit-analysis draft technical standards (MiFID/MiFIR) MiFID - Secondary Markets Consultation Paper PDF
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