MiFID - Investor Protection X MiFID - Secondary Markets X Credit Rating Agencies X Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group X Warnings and publications for investors X Statement X
01/10/2012 2012/641 ESMA approves Axesor S.A. as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Statement PDF
20/03/2013 2013/336 ESMA certifies Kroll Bond Rating Agency to operate in the EU Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
07/05/2014 2014/477 ESMA approves EuroRating as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
75.01 KB The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approved the registration of EuroRating Sp. z o.o., based in Poland, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 7 May 2014.
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.
07/11/2014 2014/1345 ESMA certifies HR Ratings de México to operate in the EU Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
87.87 KB The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the certification in the European Union of HR Ratings de México, S.A. de C.V. (HR Ratings), a Mexican credit rating agency (CRA), under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The certification takes effect from 7 November 2014.
24/11/2014 2014/1399 Public Statement- ESMA approves Moody's Investors Service EMEA Limited as a credit rating agency Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
134.62 KB The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approved the registration of Moody's Investors Service EMEA Limited, based in the UK, as a credit rating agency (CRA) under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The registration takes effect from 24th November 2014. Moody's Investors Service EMEA Limited's registration as a CRA means that its credit ratings can be used for regulatory purposes under EU legislation. This is the seventh entity in the Moody's Investors Service group to be registered as an EU Registered Credit Rating Agency.
12/12/2014 2014/1486 Public Statement- ESMA certifies Egan-Jones Ratings Co. to operate in the EU Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
88.76 KB The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has formally approved the certification in the European Union of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. (EJR), an U.S. American credit rating agency (CRA), under Article 16 of the CRA Regulation. The certification takes effect from 12 December 2014.EJR is headquartered in Haverford (Pennsylvania, USA) and is subject to registration, supervision and enforcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a "Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization".
27/10/2015 2015/1605 Public Statement- INC Rating registration FINAL Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
01/12/2015 2015/1778 Public Statement- Expert RA registration Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
02/06/2016 2016/902 MiFID practices for firms selling financial instruments subject to the BRRD resolution regime MiFID - Investor Protection Statement PDF
20/06/2016 2016/940 Statement by Steven Maijoor at ECON MiFID II/MiFIR Scrutiny Session, 21 June 2016 Speeches, MiFID - Secondary Markets Statement PDF
13/07/2016 2016/1122 Feedback Statement on the Discussion Paper on the validation and review of CRAs' methodologies Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
21/07/2016 2016/1159 Public notice- Infrigement by Fitch Credit Rating Agencies, Press Releases Statement PDF
30/09/2016 2016/1408 ESMA appoints new chairs to Standing Committees Board of Supervisors, Fund Management, Market Integrity, MiFID - Investor Protection Statement PDF
The Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has appointed the following individuals to serve as chairs of its standing committees:
Hannelore Lausch, Executive Director of the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), Germany, will chair the Market Data Standing Committee;
Cyril Roux, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI, will chair the Investment Management Standing Committee; and
Merel van Vroonhoven, Chair of the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), Netherlands, will chair the Investor Protection and Intermediaries Standing Committee.
The standing committees are expert groups drawn from ESMA staff and the national competent authorities for securities markets regulation in the Member States, and are responsible for the development of policy in their respective areas. The appointments are for a period of two years and commence with immediate effect.
07/03/2017 ESMA22-106-141 Joint Statement of the SMSG and the BSG on the Draft Guidelines on the Assessment of the Suitability Joint Committee, Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group Statement PDF
Joint Statement of the SMSG and the BSG on the Draft Guidelines on the Assessment of the Suitability of Members of the Management Body and Key Function Holders
03/05/2017 ESMA33-9-174 Opening Statement for ECON Scrutiny Hearing on CRA Regulation Credit Rating Agencies Statement PDF
28/06/2017 ESMA35-36-885 Product Intervention- General Statement Innovation and Products, MiFID - Investor Protection Statement PDF
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].
[1] ESMA35-36-794 Q&A - Relating to the provision of CFDs and other speculative products to retail investors under MiFID published 31 March 2017 |
[2] ESMA/2016/1166 Warning about CFDs, binary options and other speculative products published 25 July 2016
[3] MiFIR Product Intervention Powers – Frequently Asked Questions
28/09/2017 ESMA70-154-356 Public statement- Joint work plan of ESMA and NCAs for opinions on MiFID II pre-trade transparency waivers and position limits MiFID - Secondary Markets Statement PDF
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
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