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Date Ref. Title Section Type Download Info Summary Related Documents Translated versions
21/12/2016 2016/1682 2016-1682 Press Release on Feedback Statement on ESEF Corporate Disclosure, European Single Electronic Format, Press Releases, Transparency Press Release PDF
225.03 KB
04/01/2021 ESMA71-99-1498 Brexit: ESMA withdraws the registrations of six UK-based credit rating agencies and four trade repositories Brexit, Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases, Trade Repositories Press Release PDF
94.63 KB
30/03/2021 ESMA71-99-1622 CRA Enforcement Case Moodys March 2021 Board of Supervisors, Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
134.39 KB
23/07/2018 ESMA71-99-1017 CRA fine- ESMA fines five banks Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
223.54 KB
01/03/2012 2012/140 ESMA advises European Commission on Prospectus Directive’s overhaul- Advice covers possible delegated acts Prospectus, Corporate Disclosure, Press Releases Press Release PDF
115.14 KB
15/03/2012 2012/158 ESMA allows EU-registered CRAs to endorse credit ratings issued in the US, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
189.93 KB		 ESMA today announces that it considers the regulatory frameworks for credit rating agencies (CRAs) of the United States of America, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore to be in line with European rules. The EU Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies1 requires ESMA to assess whether the requirements of third-country CRA regimes are “as stringent as” the European ones. Today’s announcement allows European financial institutions to continue using for regulatory purposes credit ratings issued in these countries after 30 April 2012. ESMA’s assessment of third-country CRA regimes is an important tool for enhancing internationally consistent supervision of CRAs in the interests of protecting financial markets and investors in the EU.
01/02/2019 ESMA71-99-1096 ESMA and EU securities regulators MoUs with FCA Board of Supervisors, Brexit, Credit Rating Agencies, Fund Management, Press Releases, Trade Repositories Press Release PDF
80.5 KB
18/04/2012 2012/256 ESMA approves credit ratings from Argentina and Mexico for use in the EU Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
186.59 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announces today that it considers the regulatory frameworks for credit rating agencies (CRAs) of Argentina and Mexico to be in line with European Union rules.  Today’s announcement allows European financial institutions to continue using credit ratings issued in these countries for regulatory purposes after 30 April 2012.In order to facilitate regulatory information exchange, and as a precondition to endorsement, ESMA has entered into co-operation agreements for the supervision of CRAs with the national competent authorities of Argentina and Mexico.  Ratings issued under the regulatory frameworks of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United States have already been approved for use in the EU.
27/04/2012 2012/274 ESMA approves credit ratings from Brazil for use in the EU Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
182.58 KB		 ESMA considers the regulatory framework for credit rating agencies (CRAs) of Brazil to be in line with European Union rules. This allows European financial institutions to continue using credit ratings issued in Brazil for regulatory purposes after 30 April 2012. In order to facilitate the exchange of regulatory information, and as a precondition to endorsement, ESMA has also entered into a co-operation agreement for the supervision of CRAs with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários – CVM).
07/06/2013 2013/700 ESMA approves Dagong Europe as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
73.5 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the registration of Dagong Europe Credit Rating Srl (Dagong Europe), based in Italy, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 13 June 2013.
30/05/2013 2013/630 ESMA approves EIU as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
73.53 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the registration of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), based in the United Kingdom, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 3 June 2013. EIU’s registration as a CRA means that its credit ratings can be used for regulatory purposes under EU legislation.
01/07/2013 2013/853 ESMA approves Spread Research as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
73.4 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the registration of Spread Research SAS, based in France, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 1 July 2013.
03/06/2014 2014/596 ESMA censures Standard & Poor’s for internal control failings Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
111.54 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a public notice censuring Standard & Poor’s Credit Market Services France SAS and Standard & Poor’s Credit Market Services Europe Limited (S&P) for breaches of Regulation 1060/2009 (CRA Regulation). The decision by ESMA to issue a public notice results from its investigation into the erroneous publication on 10 November 2011 by S&P, to the subscribers of its Global Credit Portal, of an email stating “France (Republic of) (Unsolicited Ratings): DOWNGRADE”, although S&P’s rating of France had not been downgraded. ESMA found that this incident was the result of a failure by S&P to meet certain organisational requirements set out in the CRA Regulation, relating to sound internal control mechanisms, effective control and safeguard arrangements for information processing systems and decision-making procedures and organisational structures. ESMA, based on the provisions of the CRA Regulation, decided that the relevant breaches warranted a supervisory measure in the form of a public notice. The final decision on the supervisory measure took into account the steps taken by S&P to end the infringement and was considered proportionate to the seriousness of the breach. Case Background S&P, on 10 November 2011 at 15:57 CET, erroneously released to subscribers of its web-based Global Credit Portal (GCP) an email alert which stated in its header “France (Republic of) (Unsolicited Ratings): DOWNGRADE”, although S&P’s credit rating of France had not changed. GCP is one of the methods used by S&P to disseminate its credit ratings and other financial information products. Among other services, it provides an email alert function that a subscriber can customise in order to receive alerts when certain information changes on GCP, e.g. in case S&P decides to change a credit rating on a particular issuer. S&P’s internal database, where it maintained its credit ratings, was also used to store its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessments (BICRAs). BICRAs are not credit ratings but assessments of the banking systems in particular countries and have been published since 2006. S&P later decided to maintain BICRAs in the same centralised internal database as its credit ratings and to display BICRAs on GCP. The relevant technical specifications for this project treated BICRAs as ratings and no effective action was taken to address the implications this could have. This eventually led to the erroneous release when an attempt to change an incorrect display of France’s BICRA on GCP triggered an email alert stating in its header that the rating of France had been downgraded. ESMA’s Role Since July 2011 ESMA has been responsible for the regulation of credit rating agencies in the European Union including their registration and supervision in line with the requirements of the CRA Regulation. ESMA has the power to take appropriate enforcement action where it discovers a breach of the CRA Regulation, ranging from the issuance of public notices to the withdrawal of registration and imposition of fines.
17/06/2013 2013/743 ESMA clarifies boundary of CRA Regulation Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
119.21 KB
17/11/2017 ESMA71-99-642 ESMA clarifies endorsement regime for third-country credit ratings Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
307.12 KB
12/11/2013 2013/1645 ESMA clarifies shareholder cooperation in takeover situations Corporate Disclosure, Corporate Governance, Press Releases Press Release PDF
86.55 KB		 ESMA clarifies shareholder cooperation in takeover situations The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a statement on practices governed by the Takeover Bid Directive (TBD), focused on shareholder cooperation issues relating to acting in concert and the appointment of board members. The statement contains a White List of activities that shareholders can cooperate on without the presumption of acting in concert. It also contains information on how shareholders may cooperate in order to secure board member appointments by setting out factors that national authorities may take into account when considering whether shareholders are acting in concert. The statement is in response to a request by the European Commission for clarity on these issues, following its 2012 report on the application of the TBD. It is based on information collected about the TBD’s application and common practices across the European Economic Area (EEA). The statement was prepared by the Takeover Bids Network, a permanent working group, under ESMA’s auspices, that promotes the exchange of information on practices and application of the TBD across EEA. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said: “Today’s statement means that shareholders can now be confident that they can expect authorities to take a consistent approach across the EEA to their cooperative activities. This consistency should in turn provide the reassurance needed by shareholders for the effective, sustainable engagement that is one of the cornerstones of listed companies’ corporate governance model allowing them to hold their boards to account. “ESMA believes that ensuring a consistent and convergent supervisory approach to this issue will be instrumental in affording equality of treatment to shareholders and investors across the EEA.” National competent authorities will have regard to the White List when determining whether shareholders are persons acting in concert under national takeover rules, but will also take into account all other relevant factors in making their decisions. Shareholder cooperation and acting in concert - The White List When shareholders cooperate to engage in any of the activities listed below, that cooperation will not, in and of itself, lead to a conclusion that the shareholders are acting in concert: 1. entering into discussions with each other about possible matters to be raised with the company’s board; 2. making representations to the company’s board about company policies, practices or particular actions that the company might consider taking; 3. other than in relation to the appointment of board members, exercising shareholders’ statutory rights; 4. other than in relation to a resolution for the appointment of board members and insofar as such a resolution is provided for under national company law, agreeing to vote the same way on a particular resolution put to a general meeting. If shareholders cooperate in an activity not included on the White List, this will also not result in an automatic assumption that they are acting in concert. Each case will be determined on its own particular facts. Cooperation in relation to the appointment of members of the board of a company The White List does not include any activity relating to cooperation on board appointments, due to differences in Member State approaches towards determining whether shareholders who cooperate in relation to board appointments are acting in concert. However, shareholders may wish to cooperate in order to secure board members’ appointment in a company in which they have invested. This cooperation might take the form of: 1. entering into an agreement or arrangement (informal or formal) to exercise their votes in the same way in order to support the appointment of one or more board members; 2. tabling a resolution to remove one or more board members and replace them with one or more new board members; or 3. tabling a resolution to appoint one or more additional board members. The statement therefore indicates which factors may be considered when assessing whether such cooperation is indeed an act of acting in concert. ESMA will keep the public statement under review in order to ensure that it continues to reflect accurately the practices and application of the TBD in the Member States. 2013/1642 Public Statement - Information on shareholder cooperation and acting in concert under the Takeover Bids Directive. 2013/1643 Cover Note to the Public Statement
21/03/2014 2014/302 ESMA consults on major shareholders disclosures Corporate Disclosure, Transparency Press Release PDF
93.61 KB		 ESMA consults on major shareholders disclosures The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the revised Transparency Directive relating to the notification of major shareholdings and the indicative list of financial instruments subject to notification requirements. The consultation runs until 30 May 2014. The revised Directive harmonises transparency requirements relating to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on an EU regulated market. This harmonisation aims to enhance transparency in respect of the ownership structure of an issuer, to improve legal certainty and reduce the administrative burden for cross-border investors. The revised Transparency Directive also addresses the issue of the disclosure regime for new types of financial instruments that expose investors to an economic risk similar to when holding shares. The draft RTS support these objectives by facilitating the creation of a harmonised regime regarding the aggregation of holdings of shares and financial instruments, the calculation of notification thresholds and the exemptions from notification requirements. Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said: “Transparency is essential for ensuring that markets function properly and investors are afforded adequate protection when making investment decisions. “Today’s proposals support the aims of the Transparency Directive to improve the effectiveness of the transparency regime on corporate ownership. Clarity on this issue will ensure that shareholders and potential investors are in possession of the information needed to make informed investment decisions.” Draft Regulatory Technical Standards The draft RTS on the major shareholding notifications addresses the following issues: • Method of calculation of 5% threshold exemption regarding trading books and market makers; • Calculation method regarding a basket of shares or an index; • Methods for determining the ‘delta’ for calculating voting rights; and • Exemptions regarding notification of financial instruments. The Consultation Paper also sets out the proposed content of an indicative list of financial instruments which should be subject to the notification requirements laid down in the Directive, and outlines the processes for updating that list. The input from stakeholders will help ESMA in drafting the final report and determining the content of the draft RTS. Comments to this consultation can be submitted via ESMA’s website and the deadline for submission is 30 May 2014.
11/02/2014 2014/165 ESMA consults on new CRA transparency requirements Credit Rating Agencies Press Release PDF
105.23 KB
19/12/2017 ESMA71-99-916 ESMA consults on securitisation requirements Press Releases, Securitisation Press Release PDF
150.34 KB
15/11/2016 2016/1577 ESMA finalises Guidelines on the validation and review of Credit Rating Agencies’ methodologies Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Press Release PDF
215.45 KB

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