On February 11, ESMA published a consultation paper on the implementation of the CRA III Regulation containing draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the following:

• The content and format of fees charged by Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) to their clients for the ongoing supervision provided by ESMA, together with pricing policy.
• The requirements for adequate information that must be published by issuers, originators and sponsors in relation to structured finance instruments and their underlying assets, together with updating requirements. A standard disclosure template is also provided.
• Up-to-date information on the outlooks and ratings issued by CRAs will be provided on the European Rating Platform (ERP) website. In order to integrate them into the ERP, the draft RTS includes changes to ESMA’s regulatory reporting system and its database on performance statistics and rating activity.

The consultation closes on April 11, 2014, with a public hearing to be held on March 14, 2014. The draft RTS must be submitted for endorsement to the European Commission by June 21, 2014.  Consultation Paper.