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Date Ref. Title Section Type Download Info Summary Related Documents Translated versions
22/12/2011 2011/461 Final report- Regulatory Technical Standards on the presentation of the information that credit rating agencies shall disclose in accordance with Article 11(2) and point 1 of Part II of Section E of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 Credit Rating Agencies Technical Standards PDF
555.25 KB
22/12/2011 2011/462 Final Report- Draft RTS on the assessment of compliance of credit rating methodologies with CRA Regulation Credit Rating Agencies Technical Standards PDF
445.83 KB
22/12/2011 2011/463 Final report- Regulatory technical standards on the information for registration and certification of credit rating agencies Credit Rating Agencies Technical Standards PDF
444.79 KB
22/12/2011 2011/464 Final report- Draft RTS on the content and format of ratings data periodic reporting to be requested from credit ratings agencies for the purpose of on-going supervision by ESMA Credit Rating Agencies Technical Standards PDF
485.78 KB
22/06/2012 2012/382 MiFID Q&A in the area of investor protection and intermediaries MiFID - Investor Protection Q&A PDF
319.78 KB
07/02/2014 2014/146 MiFID practices for firms selling complex products MiFID - Investor Protection, Warnings and publications for investors Opinion PDF
122.37 KB
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.
24/06/2014 2014/685 Draft Regulatory Technical Standards under the CRA3 Regulation Credit Rating Agencies Technical Standards PDF
2.39 MB		 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its Final Report on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) required under the Credit Rating Agencies (CRA3) Regulation regarding information on transparency of structured finance instruments, the European Rating Platform and periodic reporting of fees charged by credit rating agencies. The draft RTS, which complement the existing regulatory framework for credit rating agencies (CRAs), cover: • disclosure requirements on structured finance instruments (SFIs); • the European Rating Platform (ERP); and • the periodic reporting on fees charged by CRAs.
30/06/2015 2015/1006 Final Report on MiFID II-MiFIR draft technical standards on authorisation, passporting, registration of third country firms and cooperation between competent authorities MiFID - Investor Protection Technical Standards PDF
357.16 KB
05/02/2016 2016/234 ESMA’s supervision of credit rating agencies and trade repositories- 2015 annual report and 2016 work plan. Credit Rating Agencies, Trade Repositories Report PDF
2.08 MB

The European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) annual report and work programme has been prepared according to Article 21 of Regulation 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies as amended (the CRA Regulation) and Article 85 of Regulation 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR). It highlights the direct supervisory activities carried out by ESMA during 2015 regarding credit rating agencies (CRAs) and trade repositories (TRs) and outlines ESMA’s main priorities in these areas for 2016.

ESMA adopts a risk-based approach to the supervision of CRAs and TRs in accordance with its overall objectives of promoting financial stability and orderly markets and enhancing investor protection. This risk-based approach requires the analysis of information from a variety of sources and the application of multiple supervisory tools including day-to-day supervision, cycle of engagement meetings with supervised entities, on-site inspections and dedicated investigations.

In order to build on the expertise that ESMA has developed through its supervision of CRAs and TRs, ESMA created a single Supervision Department in November 2015. ESMA intends to draw on the best practices identified from the supervision of both types of entity to further enhance its supervisory effectiveness in future.
12/05/2016 ESA/2016/41 Opinion of the ESAs- ECAI credit assessments Credit Rating Agencies, Joint Committee Opinion PDF
379.79 KB
16/12/2016 2016/1662 2016-1662 Competition & Choice in the Credit Rating Industry Credit Rating Agencies Report PDF
1.22 MB
11/01/2017 ESMA42-1643088512-2962 ESMA42-1643088512-2962 Follow-up Report to the Peer Review on Best Execution MiFID - Investor Protection, MiFID - Secondary Markets, Supervisory convergence Report PDF
774.17 KB
03/02/2017 ESMA80-1467488426-27 Supervision Annual Report 2016 and Work Programme 2017 Credit Rating Agencies, Trade Repositories Report PDF
2.49 MB
29/03/2017 ESMA70-145-48 Draft technical standards under the Benchmarks Regulation Benchmarks Report PDF
1.75 MB
31/03/2017 ESMA35-36-794 Q&A Relating to the provision of CFDs and other speculative products to retail investors under MiFID MiFID - Investor Protection Q&A PDF
948.76 KB
06/04/2017 ESMA33-9-158 Supervisory Briefing: A Common Approach to the CRA Regulation’s Provisions for Encouraging the use of Smaller CRAs Credit Rating Agencies Report PDF
687.07 KB
  1. ESMA is required to play an active role in building a common supervisory culture by promoting common supervisory approaches and practices among nationally appointed Sectoral Competent Authorities (‘SCAs’).
  1. The purpose of this supervisory briefing is to provide guidance to SCAs in relation to the application of Articles 8c and 8d of the CRA Regulation and promote a common supervisory approach and enforcement of these Articles. In this regard, the Supervisory Briefing includes the following:
  1. A Common Supervisory Approach as to which issuers and related third parties are covered by Article 8c and 8d; and,
  1. A Standard Form for documentation in accordance with article 8d.
  1. The common supervisory approach will assist SCAs as well as issuers and related third parties by clearly establishing who should be prioritised for supervision and enforcement under these Articles.
  1. The Standard Form will assist SCAs by guaranteeing standardised and consistent data across different issuers and related third parties. It will also assist issuers and related third parties by providing clarity as to how they may meet their regulatory obligations under these Articles and simplify their internal processes by removing the need to develop in-house templates for documenting compliance under Article 8d.
  1. The Supervisory Briefing will be published on ESMA’s website and on the websites of the nationally appointed SCAs.
 
02/06/2017 ESMA70-143-5 Methodological framework for mandatory benchmarks contributions Benchmarks Report PDF
282.75 KB
13/07/2017 ESMA35-43-762 Opinion to support supervisory convergence in the area of investment firms in the context of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union Brexit, MiFID - Investor Protection, Supervisory convergence Opinion PDF
236.23 KB
20/12/2017 ESMA33-5-209 CRA Market Share Calculation 2017 Credit Rating Agencies Report PDF
1012.23 KB

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