Article 46 of the Regulation (EU) No 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds (Regulation) provides that the competent authority of an administrator of a critical benchmark that is referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) of the Regulation shall establish a college.

ESMA will be a member of every college and according to Article 46(7) of the Regulation may give advice concerning the written arrangements. To promote the convergent operation of benchmark colleges, ESMA has developed model written arrangements that may be used by administrators of critical benchmarks according to Article 46(6) of the Regulation.

The European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) Supervisory Convergence Work Programme for 2016 (2016 SCWP) supplements ESMA’s Annual Work Programme for 2016 (ESMA/2015/1475) by further elaborating the nature and focus of the work ESMA will carry out in order to promote supervisory convergence and how that will contribute to implementing ESMA’s Strategic Orientation for 2016-2020 (ESMA/2015/935).

The 2016 SCWP provides an overview and explanation of the steps ESMA will take in 2016 to promote sound, efficient and consistent supervision in the EU.  It sets out priority areas and how they have been identified and sets them in the context of the wider work programme and environment.

Implementation of the 2016 SCWP will be monitored in the course of 2016 and depending on developments during the year, priorities might be re-adjusted. It will also be used to inform ESMA’s Annual Report and its supervisory convergence work programme for future years which will be risk-based.