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Date Ref. Title Section Type Download Info Summary Related Documents Translated versions
20/04/2012 2012/236 ESMA's Technical Advice on possible delegated acts of the short-selling and certain aspects of CDS Short Selling, Market Integrity Technical Advice PDF
509.39 KB
03/09/2013 2013/1157 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – US Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
5.06 MB
03/09/2013 2013/1158 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – Japan Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.76 MB
03/09/2013 2013/1159 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – Australia Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.82 MB
03/09/2013 2013/1160 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – Hong Kong Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.57 MB
03/09/2013 2013/1161 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – Singapore Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.55 MB
03/09/2013 2013/1162 Technical advice on third country regulatory equivalence under EMIR – Switzerland Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.65 MB
02/10/2013 2013/1369 ESMA Technical advice on equivalence of Hong Kong for OTC and TR (Supplement) Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
124.15 KB
02/10/2013 2013/1371 ESMA Technical advice on equivalence of South Korea for CCPs Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
1.83 MB
02/10/2013 2013/1372 ESMA Technical advice on equivalence of Singapore for TRs (Supplement) Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
500.37 KB
24/01/2014 2013/1965 Technical Advice to the Commission on procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to Trade Repositories Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
385.87 KB

Reasons for publication On 29 of April 2013 ESMA received a formal request from the European Commission (the Commission) to provide technical advice to assist the Commission in formulating procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to trade repositories (TRs) by delegated act. In order to deliver its advice to the Commission, ESMA consulted market participants regarding the procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to TRs. Respondents to the consultation were encouraged to provide the relevant information in support of their arguments or proposals. ESMA published the consultation on 18 October 2013. The market participants could provide their comments until 15 November 2013. In total ESMA received two responses to the consultation. The respondents have required confidential treatment for their input. ESMA would like to thank respondents for providing input. Contents This document sets out a summary of the responses received by ESMA regarding the procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to TRs and includes ESMA’s final technical advice to the Commission on the future Regulation on the procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to TRs which will be adopted by the Commission in the form of a delegated act. It is worth noting that all major ESMA proposals were supported by respondents and where comments were received ESMA has considered them carefully. Next steps ESMA will follow-up on this work with the Commission towards the adoption of the Commission delegated regulation on procedural rules to impose fines and periodic penalty payments to TRs.
04/04/2013 2013/302 ESMA’s Technical Advice to the Commission on Fees for Trade Repositories Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
1.08 MB

On 14 January 2013 ESMA received a formal request from the European Commission (the Commission) to provide technical advice to assist the Commission in formulating a Regulation on fees for Trade Repositories (TRs) by a delegated act. In order to deliver its advice to the Commission, ESMA consulted market participants regarding the proposed fee structures for registration, supervision and recognition of TRs. Respondents to this consultation were encouraged to provide the relevant data to support their arguments or proposals.Given the time period established for providing this advice, ESMA was compelled to require responses to the consultation within a short timeframe. In total, ESMA received 8 responses to the consultation. Non-confidential responses can be found on ESMA’s website. ESMA would like to thank respondents for providing input given the short period ESMA was able to consult for. This document sets out a summary of the responses received by ESMA regarding the fee structure for registration, supervision and recognition of TRs in the EU and includes ESMA’s final technical advice to the Commission on the future Regulation on fees for TRs which will be adopted by the Commission in the form of a delegated act. It is worth noting that all major ESMA proposals were supported by respondents and where comments were received ESMA has considered how best to adjust the original proposals. Next steps ESMA will follow-up on this work with the Commission as they work on the adoption of the Commission delegated regulation on fees for TRs.
15/03/2013 2013/312 Regulatory technical standards on colleges for central counterparties supplementing Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 Post Trading Opinion PDF
151.67 KB
30/04/2013 2013/542 Emergency measure by the Greek HCMC under Section 1 of Chapter V of Regulation No 236/2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps Short Selling, Market Integrity Opinion PDF
96.41 KB
30/01/2014 2014/123 ESMA Technical advice on equivalence of Japan for CCP II- Commodities CCPs Post Trading Technical Advice PDF
3.33 MB

ESMA delivers second set of advice on EMIR equivalence Following its technical advice published on 9 September 2013, the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) has published a supplement to its advice to the European Commission on the equivalence of the regulatory regime for central counterparties (CCPs) of Japan with the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). This supplement to the September 2013 Final report sets out ESMA’s advice to the European Commission is in respect of the equivalence between the Japanese regulatory regime for commodity CCPs and the regulatory regime for CCPs under EMIR. ESMA proposes conditional equivalence As for ESMA’s advice to the Commission in respect of Japan for CCPs which clear transactions relating to securities, currencies, interest rates, credit, weather, GDP and other indices, ESMA considers that the Japanese regulatory regime for commodity CCPs contains legal provisions and involves supervision and enforcement similar to that of EMIR. The Commission is expected to use ESMA’s technical advice to prepare possible equivalence decisions. Where it adopts such a decision, certain provisions of EMIR may be disapplied in favour of equivalent third-country rules. In particular, ESMA may recognise within the EU a CCP which is authorised outside the EU. The different pieces of advice are available on ESMA’s website.
18/12/2014 2014/1378 Opinion- Investment-based crowdfunding Innovation and Products Opinion PDF
460.92 KB		 Crowdfunding is a means of raising finance for projects from ‘the crowd’ often by means of an internet-based platform through which project owners ‘pitch’ their idea to potential backers, who are typically not professional investors.  It takes many forms, not all of which involve the potential for a financial return.  ESMA’s focus is on crowdfunding which involves investment, as distinct from donation, non-monetary reward or loan agreement.  Crowdfunding is relatively young and business models are evolving. EU financial services rules were not designed with the industry in mind. Within investment-based crowdfunding a range of different operational structures are used so it is not straightforward to map crowdfunding platforms’ activities to those regulated under EU legislation. Member States and NCAs have been working out how to treat crowdfunding, with some dealing with issues case-by-case, some seeking to clarify how crowdfunding fits into existing rules and others introducing specific requirements.To assist NCAs and market participants, and to promote regulatory and supervisory convergence, ESMA has assessed typical investment-based crowdfunding business models and how they could evolve, risks typically involved for project owners, investors and the platforms themselves and the likely components of an appropriate regulatory regime. ESMA then prepared a detailed analysis of how the typical business models map across to the existing EU legislation, set out in this document.
27/03/2014 2014/332 Structured Retail Products- Good practices for product governance arrangements MiFID - Investor Protection, Innovation and Products Opinion PDF
203.1 KB		 Legal basis 1.    Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 (ESMA Regulation)  sets out the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) scope of action, tasks and powers which include “enhancing customer protection”, and “foster[ing] investor protection”.  2.    In order to continue delivering on this investor protection statutory objective, ESMA is issuing this opinion on certain aspects linked to the manufacturing and distribution of structured retail products (SRP). This opinion takes into account relevant work done in this field both at European and interna-tional level.  3.    This opinion is without prejudice to the requirements for the provision of investment services and activities established in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID)  and its implementing measures (notably, Directive 2006/73/EC), the regulatory developments arising from the MiFID review or existing product rules that may apply to SRPs.  4.    ESMA’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 29(1) (a) of the ESMA Regulation. In accordance with Article 44(1) of the ESMA Regulation, the Board of Supervisors has adopted this opinion. Background 5.    In its July 2013 report on ‘Retailisation in the EU’ , ESMA highlighted that, from a consumer protec-tion perspective, retail investors may face difficulties in understanding the drivers of risks and returns of structured products. If retail investors do not properly understand the risk and reward profile of structured products, and if the products are not properly assessed against the risk appetite of retail investors, retail investors might be exposed to unexpected losses and this might lead to complaints, reputational risks for manufacturers and distributors, and a loss of confidence in the regulatory framework and, more broadly, in financial markets. 6.    In 2013, ESMA mapped the measures adopted in the EU Member States in relation to complex products in order to identify issues and to better understand the rationale behind national initiatives (by looking at similarities and differences in the various approaches, and reviewing how complexity has been treated in the different EU Members States). 7.    As a result, ESMA has developed a broad set of non-exhaustive examples of good practices, attached as Annex 1 hereto, illustrating arrangements that firms - taking into account the nature, scale and complexity of their business - could put in place to improve their ability to deliver on investor protection regarding, in particular, (i) the complexity of the SRPs they manufacture or distribute, (ii) the nature and range of the investment services and activities undertaken in the course of that business, and (iii) the type of investors they target. These good practices should also be a helpful tool for competent authorities in carrying out their supervisory action. Opinion 8.    ESMA considers that sound product governance arrangements are fundamental for investor protec-tion purposes, and can reduce the need for product intervention actions by competent authorities. 9.    ESMA considers that, when supervising firms manufacturing or distributing an SRP, competent authorities should promote, in their supervisory approaches, the examples of good practices for firms set out in Annex 1 hereto. 10.    Although the good practices set out in Annex 1 hereto focus on structured products sold to retail investors, ESMA considers that they may also be a relevant reference for other types of financial in-struments (such as asset-backed securities, or contingent convertible bonds), as well as when financial instruments are being sold to professional clients. 11.    The exposure to risk is an intrinsic feature of investment products. The good practices set out in Annex 1 refer to product governance arrangements and do not (and cannot) aim at removing investment risk from products.
28/05/2014 2014/576 Voting Procedures for CCP colleges under EMIR Post Trading Opinion PDF
94.15 KB
07/07/2015 2015/1104 ESMA Opinion on the renewal of emergency measure by the Greek HCMC under the Short Selling Regulation Short Selling, Market Integrity Opinion PDF
108.42 KB		 OPINION Renewal of emergency measure by the Greek HCMC under Section 1 of Chapter V of Regulation No 236/2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps I. Legal basis 1. According to Article 27(2) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps (the Regulation), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) shall within 24 hours of the notification having been made by a competent authority under Article 26 of the Regulation issue an opinion on whether it considers the measure or proposed measure necessary to address the exceptional circumstances. 2. ESMA’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 29(1) (a) of Regulation (EC) No 1095/2010 (ESMA Regulation). In accordance with Article 44(1) of the ESMA Regulation the Board of Supervisors has adopted this opinion. II. Background 3. In accordance with Article 26 of the Regulation, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) originally notified ESMA and competent authorities on the 29th of June 2015 of its intention to make use of its powers of intervention in exceptional circumstances and to introduce an emergency measure under Article 20 of the Regulation. 4. The original emergency measure consisted of a temporary prohibition of transactions in any financial instrument that create, or increase, a net short position on any of the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” (Alternative Market of the Athens Exchange) of which the relevant Competent Authority is HCMC. 5. The original measure concerned the following financial instruments: all shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A”, as well as all related instruments included in the calculation of the net short position in accordance with Regulation (EU) N0 236/2012 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 918/2012 of 5 July 2012 (see in particular Annex I, Part I thereof). It applied to any person irrespective of their country of residence, and did not envisage any exemption for market maker activities. 6. In the original notification, the HCMC indicated that the measure was a complementary action to the ones already established on the 29th of June 2015 by the Greek Authorities, namely: • closure of the ATHEX regulated market and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” until the 6th of July (included); • closure of The Electronic Secondary Market “HDAT” for government bonds operated for the same period; • suspension of redemption of mutual funds’ units; • suspension of operation of ATHEXClear for the securities traded on the Greek market and the MTF “EN.A”; • suspension of the settlement of securities traded on the Greek market by the Hellenic Central Securities Depository; • trading suspension of all the securities of listed companies covered by the above measures, as well as the related financial instruments (the trading suspension is effective also in other Member States). 7. The reason for proposing a temporary prohibition for the creation, or increase, of net short position on the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and on “EN.A” was that the HCMC deemed it necessary for the protection of the investors and the preservation of financial stability. In fact, such prohibition was considered a relevant component to ensure the effectiveness of the other measures adopted by the Greek authorities. The HCMC also stated that given that the main liquidity and trading activity on those instruments normally is located within Greece, the measure would have not created disproportionate negative effects, since it would have affected a fairly small part of the EU overall market. 8. Following the issuance by ESMA of a positive opinion pursuant to Article 27 of the Regulation on the 29th of June, the original measure by the HCMC entered into force at 00:00:01 hours (CET) on 30th June 2015, and applied for a period of seven days, ending at 24:00:00 (CET) on 6th July 2015. 9. On the 6th of July 2015, the measures described in paragraph 6 were renewed by the Greek authorities and the bank holiday in Greece was also extended. On the same day, the HCMC proposed a renewal of the short selling measure, notifying ESMA and competent authorities accordingly. 10. In the notification for the renewal, the HCMC explains that it believes the circumstances that justified the imposition of the original measure did not improve during the last week and therefore the measure should be renewed. Moreover, all the other measures adopted by the Greek authorities were renewed or extended, and the short selling measure remains a relevant component to ensure the effectiveness of the other ones. 11. The proposed renewal would concern the same financial instruments of the original measure (see paragraph 5), but the HCMC specified in the new notification that although the ban covers all transactions in the financial instruments listed in Part I of Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No 918/2012, transactions in index-related instruments and ETFs are included to the extent that the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” of which the relevant Competent Authority is the HCMC represent more than 5% of the total value (or composition) of these instruments. 12. The renewed measure shall apply for a period of seven days and shall be in force as of 00:00:01 hours (CET) on 7th July 2015 until 24:00:00 (CET) on 13th of July 2015. III. Opinion 13. ESMA is adopting the following opinion on the notified measure, on the basis of Article 27(2) of Regulation 236/2012 on Short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps: On the adverse events or developments ESMA considers that adverse developments which constitute a serious threat to market confidence in the Greek market still persist. On the appropriateness and proportionality of the measure ESMA considers that the measure is appropriate and proportionate to address the above mentioned threats that persist in the Hellenic Republic. On the duration of the measure ESMA considers that the duration of the measure is justified and appreciates HCMC’s statement in its notification of intent that the measure may be lifted before the end of the established period or renewed in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 if circumstances that justified the imposition of the measure improve, persist or worsen.
13/07/2015 2015/1131 ESMA Opinion on the renewal of emergency measure by the Greek HCMC under short selling regulation Short Selling, Market Integrity Opinion PDF
110.11 KB		 OPINION Renewal of emergency measure by the Greek HCMC under Section 1 of Chapter V of Regulation No 236/2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps I. Legal basis 1. According to Article 27(2) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps (the Regulation), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) shall within 24 hours of the notification having been made by a competent authority under Article 26 of the Regulation issue an opinion on whether it considers the measure or proposed measure necessary to address the exceptional circumstances. 2. ESMA’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 29(1) (a) of Regulation (EC) No 1095/2010 (ESMA Regulation). In accordance with Article 44(1) of the ESMA Regulation the Board of Supervisors has adopted this opinion. II. Background 3. On the 29th of June 2015, ESMA issued an opinion on the emergency measure introduced by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) under Article 20 of the Regulation. The measure consisted of a temporary prohibition of transactions in any financial instrument that create, or increase, a net short position on any of the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” (Alternative Market of the Athens Exchange) of which the relevant Competent Authority is HCMC and was applied from 30th June 2015 at 00.00.01 CET to the 6th July 2015 at 24:00:00 (CET). 4. The measure concerned the following financial instruments: all shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A”, as well as all related instruments included in the calculation of the net short position in accordance with Regulation (EU) N0 236/2012 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 918/2012 of 5 July 2012 (see in particular Annex I, Part I thereof). It applied to any person irrespective of their country of residence, and did not envisage any exemption for market maker activities. 5. In the original notification to ESMA, the HCMC indicated that the measure was a complementary action to the ones already established on the 29th of June 2015 by the Greek Authorities, namely: • closure of the ATHEX regulated market and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” until the 6th of July (included); • closure of The Electronic Secondary Market “HDAT” for government bonds operated for the same period; • suspension of redemption of mutual funds’ units; • suspension of operation of ATHEXClear for the securities traded on the Greek market and the MTF “EN.A”; • suspension of the settlement of securities traded on the Greek market by the Hellenic Central Securities Depository; • trading suspension of all the securities of listed companies covered by the above measures, as well as the related financial instruments (the trading suspension is effective also in other Member States). 6. The reason for proposing a temporary prohibition for the creation, or increase, of net short position on the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and on “EN.A” was that the HCMC deemed it necessary for the protection of the investors and the preservation of financial stability. In fact, such prohibition was considered a relevant component to ensure the effectiveness of the other measures adopted by the Greek authorities. The HCMC also stated that given that the main liquidity and trading activity on those instruments normally is located within Greece, the measure would have not created disproportionate negative effects, since it would have affected a fairly small part of the EU overall market. 7. On the 6th of July 2015, the measures described in paragraph 5 were renewed by the Greek authorities and the bank holiday in Greece was also extended. On the same day, the HCMC notified ESMA and competent authorities of its intention to renew the short selling measure and ESMA issued a positive opinion concerning this first renewal pursuant to Article 27 of the Regulation. 8. The first renewal concerned the same financial instruments of the original measure (see paragraph 5), but the HCMC specified in the related notification that although the ban covers all transactions in the financial instruments listed in Part I of Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No 918/2012, transactions in index-related instruments and ETFs are included to the extent that the shares admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange and the Multilateral Trading Facility of “EN.A” of which the relevant Competent Authority is the HCMC represent more than 5% of the total value (or composition) of these instruments. 9. This renewal entered into force at 00:00:01 hours (CET) on 7th July 2015 and will expire at 24:00:00 (CET) on 13th July 2015. 10. On the 13th of July 2015, the measures described in paragraph 5 were renewed again by the Greek authorities and the bank holiday in Greece was also extended. On the same day, in accordance with Article 26 of the Regulation, the HCMC has notified ESMA and other competent authorities of its intention to make use of its powers of intervention in exceptional circumstances and to renew again the current emergency measure under Article 20 of the Regulation. 11. In the notification for this second renewal, the HCMC explains that it believes the circumstances that justified the imposition of the original measure and of the first renewal did not improve yet and therefore the measure should be extended again. Moreover, all the other measures adopted by the Greek authorities were extended, and the short selling measure remains a relevant component to ensure the effectiveness of the other ones. 12. The proposed second renewal would concern exactly the same instruments as of the first renewal. 13. The renewed measure shall apply for a period of seven days and shall be in force as of 00:00:01 hours (CET) on 14th July 2015 until 24:00:00 (CET) on 20th of July 2015. III. Opinion 14. ESMA is adopting the following opinion on the notified measure, on the basis of Article 27(2) of Regulation 236/2012 on Short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps: On the adverse events or developments ESMA considers that adverse developments which constitute a serious threat to market confidence in the Greek market still persist. On the appropriateness and proportionality of the measure ESMA considers that the measure is appropriate and proportionate to address the above mentioned threats that persist in the Hellenic Republic. On the duration of the measure ESMA considers that the duration of the measure is justified and appreciates HCMC’s statement in its notification of intent that the measure may be lifted before the end of the established period or renewed in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 if circumstances that justified the imposition of the measure improve, persist or worsen.

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