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Date Ref. Title Section Type Download Info Summary Related Documents Translated versions
10/03/2011 2011/11 Public statement of consultation practices Corporate Information Statement PDF
102.44 KB
09/11/2012 2012/279 ESMA appoints new chairs to Standing Committees Corporate Information Statement PDF
87.88 KB
30/09/2013 ESMA/2013/1363 Statement by Steven Maijoor, Chair European Securities and Markets Authority, ECON Committee, European Parliament 30 September 2013 Corporate Information Statement PDF
113.71 KB		 Annex to the Statement by Steven Maijoor, Chair of ESMA, to the ECON hearing, 30 September 2013 ESMA/2013/1350
30/09/2013 ESMA/2013/1350 Annex to the Statement by Steven Maijoor, Chair of ESMA, to the ECON hearing, 30 September 2013 Corporate Information Statement PDF
338.74 KB

Statement by Steven Maijoor, Chair European Securities and Markets Authority, ECON Committee, European Parliament 30 September 2013 ESMA/2013/1363
31/07/2014 2014/944 Potential Risks Associated with Investing in Contingent Convertible Instruments Warnings and publications for investors, Innovation and Products Statement PDF
106.1 KB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is issuing this statement to clarify to institutional investors risks from a newly emerging asset class referred to by most market participants as contingent convertibles instruments (CoCos). If they work as intended in a crisis CoCos will play an important role to inhibit risk transfer from debt holders to taxpayers. They along with standards to improve the quality and quantity of bank capital reflect a considerate response to the former regulatory capital framework. However, it is unclear as to whether investors fully consider the risks of CoCos and correctly factor those risks into their valuation. ESMA believes there are specific risks to CoCos and that investors should take those risks into consideration prior to investing in these instruments.
23/09/2014 2014/1164 Statement by Steven Maijoor, Chair, European Securities and Markets Authority at the ECON Committee, European Parliament 23 September 2014 Corporate Information Statement PDF
109.53 KB		 Dear Members of the European Parliament, Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your election or re-election as a Member of the European Parliament and as a member of this important committee. Call it a “Single Capital Market” or “Capital Market Union”, the financial regulatory reform in the European Union (EU) in the last five years has made solid progress and is a decisive step towards the aim of completing the single market in financial services. This is not only a necessity to tackle failures exposed by the financial crisis, it is also a crucial part of realising the overriding objective of securing economic recovery in the EU. However, it will only reach its full potential if the single rule book is applied consistently and supervised adequately so that all stakeholders can benefit from it in daily practice. ESMA plays a key role in achieving this objective, by enhancing investor protection and by promoting stable and orderly financial markets in the EU. Since its inception three and a half years ago, ESMA has contributed to the creation of an EU single rulebook by developing technical standards and guidelines, and by assisting the European Institutions, and the European Commission in particular, in providing technical advice on such areas as: over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, hedge funds and private equity, short selling, high frequency trading, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), investment advice and financial information. In the last 12 months, ESMA finalised 22 technical standards and pieces of technical advice to the European Commission, as well as seven sets of guidelines, in order to complete the legal framework in areas such as Credit Rating Agencies, prospectuses, market infrastructures, European Social Entrepreneurship Funds and European Venture Capital Funds. We are currently translating the recently agreed MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules. I will not run through all the work we have done on the single rulebook in that time as you can find an overview and some statistics in the Annex to my Statement which was distributed to you. I would like to stress that throughout the entire policy process we engage as much as possible with all relevant stakeholders – through hearings, direct meetings and consultations. We have – and will continue – to interact with many stakeholder associations representing consumers, investors and market participants - and solicit the views of ESMA’s Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (SMSG). To mention two examples, right now we are assessing the almost 800 responses we have received to our MiFID II discussion and consultation papers and ESMA has received more than 1500 questions on the implementation of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). ESMA has successfully developed a regime of direct supervision at EU level. We supervise 23 credit rating agencies by conducting thematic investigations, on-site visits, analysing the information CRAs provide to the public and by monitoring the implementation of remedial action plans. In June this year, ESMA concluded its first enforcement action and 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 failing to meet certain organisational requirements. EMIR brings more transparency to derivatives markets by introducing mandatory reporting to trade repositories (TRs). Since November 2013, six repositories have been registered and are now supervised by ESMA. Since reporting under EMIR went live, derivatives trade data has flowed into the repositories: as of 30 June 2014, more than 1 billion new trades have been reported to the TRs. Regulators now have access, or are in the process of establishing access, to derivatives data which should help in providing a clearer picture on the risks associated with those markets. On identifying risks to investor protection and stability, ESMA has substantially improved its data and intelligence gathering capabilities. Risks in securities markets are, for example regularly, identified and reported on in ESMA’s Trend, Risk and Vulnerabilities Report. Concerning the convergence of supervisory practices we have employed a range of instruments, including Q&As, opinions and peer reviews. Regarding peer reviews, we have strengthened our methodology, including the more frequent use of on-site visits. More generally, with the reform of financial markets moving from legislation to implementation, supervisory convergence will become a higher priority in ESMA’s activities and we will increase our resources allocated to this area. That brings me to the last topic I would like to raise, which I also brought to this Committee’s attention last year, the need for a stable budget. Today, our funding comes from a combination of the EU budget, levies on the financial market entities that we supervise directly, and the Member States’ national competent authorities. We are concerned that an increasing budget contribution from national competent authorities might pose undue difficulties to their functioning. This would run counter to the reinforcement of securities markets regulation and supervision at both EU and national level as envisaged in the regulatory reform programme. ESMA’s funding should guarantee its independence and not create potential undue influence. Therefore, we believe that the co-legislators should consider increasing the funding ESMA receives from financial market entities which require ESMA’s intervention and to increase the Union’s share in ESMA’s budget through an independent budget line directly adopted by the co-legislators. Thank you for your attention.
28/10/2016 ESMA/2016/1528 European common enforcement priorities for 2016 financial statements Corporate Disclosure, Corporate Information, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Statement PDF
317.18 KB
10/11/2016 2016-1563 Issues for consideration in implementing IFRS 9: Financial Instruments Audit, Corporate Disclosure, IFRS Supervisory Convergence Statement PDF
256.22 KB
07/03/2017 ESMA50-1623096732-432 Opening remarks Financial Innovation Day Innovation and Products Statement PDF
169.02 KB
07/03/2017 ESMA50-1623096732-432x Closing remarks Financial Innovation Day Innovation and Products Statement PDF
152.27 KB
28/06/2017 ESMA35-36-885 Product Intervention- General Statement Innovation and Products, MiFID - Investor Protection Statement PDF
123.04 KB

This statement provides an update on the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) work in relation to the sale of contracts for differences (CFDs), binary options and other speculative products to retail investors.

 

ESMA has been concerned about the provision of speculative products such as CFDs, rolling spot forex and binary options to retail investors for a considerable period of time and has conducted ongoing monitoring and supervisory convergence work in this area. In this context, ESMA has previously published a number of Q&As on CFDs and other speculative products[1] to foster supervisory convergence, having established a CFD Task Force in July 2015, and also issued a further investor warning on the sale of CFDs, binary options and other speculative products in July 2016[2].

 

However, ESMA remains concerned that these supervisory convergence tools may not be sufficiently effective to ensure that the risks to consumer protection are sufficiently controlled or reduced. ESMA is therefore discussing the possible use of its product intervention powers under Article 40 of MiFIR to address investor protection risks in relation to CFDs, rolling spot forex and binary options.

 

ESMA is in the process of discussing the possible use of its product intervention powers under Article 40 of MiFIR, the possible content of any such measures, and how they could be applied. However, ESMA can confirm that the measures being discussed for (i) CFDs and rolling spot forex and (ii) binary options include proposals that take into account a number of measures that have been adopted or publicly consulted on by EU National Competent Authorities. These measures include leverage limits, guaranteed limits on client losses, and / or restrictions on the marketing and distribution of these products.

 

In accordance with Article 40 of MiFIR, any intervention measures must be approved by the ESMA Board of Supervisors and can only come into effect from 3 January 2018 at the earliest[3].
06/07/2017 ESMA71-99-522 ESMA appoints new member to its Management Board Corporate Information, Management Board Statement PDF
144.98 KB
29/09/2017 ESMA71-99-602 ESMA appoints new chairs to Standing Committees Board of Supervisors, Corporate Disclosure, Corporate Finance, Corporate Information, Innovation and Products, Market Integrity, MiFID - Secondary Markets, Post Trading Statement PDF
143.69 KB
13/11/2017 ESMA50-157-829 ESMA alerts investors to the high risks of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) Innovation and Products, Warnings and publications for investors Statement PDF
444.01 KB
13/11/2017 ESMA50-157-828 ESMA alerts firms involved in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) to the need to meet relevant regulatory requirements Innovation and Products, Warnings and publications for investors Statement PDF
330.73 KB
08/03/2018 ESMA71-99-955 EU Agencies Joint declaration on harassment Corporate Information Statement PDF
495.66 KB
23/05/2018 ESMA71-99-979 ESMA appoints new chair to its Committee of Economic and Markets’ Analysis Innovation and Products, Risk Analysis & Economics - Markets Infrastructure Investors Statement PDF
209.05 KB
08/10/2018 ESMA22-105-588 Opening Statement for ECON Hearing on 8 October 2018 Corporate Information Statement PDF
439.31 KB
08/10/2018 ESMA22-105-587 Annex to the Statement for ECON Hearing on 8 October 2018 Corporate Information Statement PDF
841.11 KB
04/12/2019 ESMA71-99-1254 Acting Chair CCP Supervisory Committee Board of Supervisors, Corporate Information, Post Trading, Press Releases Statement PDF
82.87 KB

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