1. ESMA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Commission Consultation paper on Fintech: a more competitive and innovative financial sector (hereafter “the Consultation”).
2. Fintech and, technological innovation in general, have been the drivers of a number of developments in the financial sector in recent years. Indeed, new forms of services and businesses such as automated advice or crowdfunding have emerged. ESMA sees these developments as a positive evolution as long as they are aimed at improving consumer financial experience and facilitate financial inclusion. ESMA would also want to stress that it adheres to the core principles (technological neutrality, proportionality and market integrity) highlighted by the Commission and agrees that any EU policies aiming to ensure the financial sector takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies, while remaining sound and safe for investors, need to integrate these principles.
3. In this response, ESMA wishes to share with the Commission some reflections on a number of topics mentioned in the Consultation which appear relevant to ESMA:
   • Artificial intelligence and big data analytics for automated advice and businesses;
   • Crowdfunding;
   • Reg Tech;
   • Outsourcing and cloud computing;
   • Distributed ledger technology;
   • Role of regulation and supervisors; and
   • Role of industry: standards and interoperability

The report provides an overview of the activities of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the accounting enforcers in the European Economic Area (EEA), hereafter ‘European enforcers’, when examining compliance of financial information provided by issuers with IFRS in 2016. It also provides an overview of the main activities performed at European level, quantitative information on enforcement activities in Europe as well as ESMA’s contribution to the development of the single rulebook in the area of financial reporting. In addition, it also outlines ESMA’s activities for 2017 in the area of corporate reporting following its Supervisory Convergence Work Programme.

One of the key objectives of ESMA is to foster and increase supervisory convergence across NCAs. Thematic studies have been identified as a means of achieving this objective. Their aim is to review supervisory practice in the Member States, identifying good or best practices where possible. In 2016, ESMA conducted a thematic study on the operation of home and host responsibilities under AIFMD and UCITS with a view to promoting smooth operation of the EU passports for marketing and management, looking at the notification frameworks contained in the UCITS Directive and AIFMD. The findings of the thematic study form the core of this report. They are supplemented, where possible, by a number of recommendations on good supervisory practices.