European Securities and Markets Authority

ESMA Consults on Guidelines on Disclosure of Information on Commodity Derivatives Markets or Related Spot Markets under MAR

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On March 30, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) opened a public consultation on draft guidelines under the Market Abuse Regulation (“MAR”).

ESMA is consulting on its proposed non-exhaustive indicative list of information expected or required to be published on commodity derivatives markets or spot markets for the purposes of determining inside information regarding commodity derivatives and of triggering the prohibitions for insider dealing.

Under MAR, inside information in relation to commodity derivatives must relate to either the commodity derivatives themselves or to the related spot commodity contract. However there is a wide variety of commodities markets and commodity derivatives markets which may require distinguishing between types of information specific to these markets. ESMA is giving further consideration to the scope of the instruments or products concerned.

ESMA will consider all comments received by May 20. Consultation Paper.

Commission Sends MiFID II Draft RTS Back to ESMA for Revision

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On March 17, Markus Ferber, MEP, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur for MiFID II, published a press release announcing that the European Commission had sent back to European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on non-equity transparency, the ancillary activity exemption, and position limits for commodity derivatives for further revision to take the Parliament’s position more thoroughly into account.

Mr. Ferber explains that the latest draft RTS were not acceptable to the Parliament, especially the position limits regime, which he believes urgently needs a comprehensive redrafting to effectively curb food speculation. He believes that the latest drafts were not up to standard and would not have solved the problem at all.

Mr. Ferber expects ESMA to revisit the technical standards swiftly, thoroughly and to adapt them in line with the Parliament’s remarks. However, the redrafting must not further delay the overall MiFID II timeline. He adds that, since the Parliament’s concerns were known and available for quite some time, the Commission and ESMA could easily have acted earlier.

ESMA Publishes Peer Review Report on Compliance with SSR Regarding Market Making Activities

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On January 5, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a peer review report aimed at assessing how national competent authorities (“NCAs”) apply the exemption for market making activities foreseen in Article 17 of the Short Selling Regulation (SSR).  The report reviewed whether the NCAs are applying the general principles and criteria of eligibility for the exemption in compliance with the corresponding ESMA Guidelines and to identify good practices.

The report concluded that all NCAs have dedicated resources and have designed processes to handle the notification of exemptions and the notification functions are staffed with capable, knowledgeable and committed staff and that there are a number of approaches taken by NCAs.

The report highlighted some areas for concern, including: NCAs are not properly seeking assurance, in advance, that market makers seeking an exemption comply with the organizational requirement of the ESMA Guidelines; and many NCAs are too reliant on monitoring by trading venues rather than monitoring by the NCAs themselves. Report.

Joint Committee Report on Securitization

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On May 12, 2015, the Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a report detailing its findings and recommendations regarding the disclosure requirements and obligations relating to due diligence, supervisory reporting and retention rules in existing EU law on Structured Finance Instruments (SFIs). The ESAs comprise the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority.

The report states that its recommendations constitute the Joint Committee’s response to the European Commission’s recent consultation on securitization and should be considered in the light of further work on the transparency requirements for SFIs.

The report focuses on the interplay between investor due diligence requirements and the disclosure requirements that apply to issuers, originators and sponsors. It aims to establish whether investors are effectively protected and whether the supervision framework is appropriate to support the redevelopment of the EU securitization markets. It includes recommendations to:

  • harmonize due diligence requirements across the EU.
  • standardize investor reports and have them stored in a centralized, public space.
  • ensure investors receive loan-by-loan level data.
  • review the use of different definitions and key terms across EU legislative texts.
  • complement a harmonized due diligence and disclosure framework with a comprehensive regime for supervision and enforcement.

Benchmarks: Agreement Reached on ECON Committee

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On March 31, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) adopted its report on benchmarks. Key issues include: The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee backed a draft EU law to make the benchmarks more trustworthy. The text aims to clean up the benchmark-setting process by curbing conflicts of interest like those that led to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rigging scandals of recent years. The setting of critical benchmarks that affect more than one country would be overseen by a “college” of supervisors, including the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and other competent authorities.

Curbing critical conflicts of interest

The draft law aims to curb conflicts of interest in setting “critical” benchmarks, such as LIBOR and EURIBOR, which, by influencing financial instruments and contracts with an average value of at least €500 billion, could affect the stability of financial markets across Europe.

The final decision on whether a benchmark is “critical” would be up to ESMA and national authorities, but a national authority could also deem a benchmark administered within its territory to be critical if it has a “significant” impact on the national market.

Critical benchmark administrators would have to have a clear organizational structure to prevent conflicts of interest, and be subject to effective control procedures.

Critical benchmark-setting data would have to be verifiable and come from reliable contributors who are bound by a code of conduct for each benchmark. Contributors, such as banks contributing data needed to determine a critical benchmark, would have to notify the benchmark administrator and the relevant authority if they wished to cease doing so, but would nonetheless have to continue doing so until a replacement were found.

Transparency requirements

All benchmark administrators would have to be registered with the ESMA and would have to publish a “benchmark statement” defining precisely what their benchmark measures and to what extent it is reliable. They would also have to publish or disclose existing and potential conflicts of interest and meet accountability, record keeping, audit and review requirements.

The text will be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole to consolidate Parliament’s position before its three-way negotiations with EU member states and the European Commission.

ESMA Final Draft RTS for Central Clearing of Interest Rate Swaps under EMIR

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On October 2, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report containing final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) for the central clearing of interest rate swaps (IRS) under EMIR. The four IRS classes that will be subject to central clearing are basis swaps, fixed-to-float swaps, forward rate agreements and overnight index swaps, each denominated in a range of currencies.  Report.

ESMA Compliance Table Relating to MiFID Remuneration

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On October 7, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a guidelines compliance table relating to its guidelines on remuneration policies and practices under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

The table lists the jurisdictions whose national competent authorities (NCAs) have informed ESMA whether they comply or intend to comply with the guidelines. The only jurisdiction in the table listed as not complying is Germany. There is a comment in the table that states that the German NCA (BaFin) does not entirely comply with the guidelines insofar as it excludes from their scope any remuneration agreed within the scope of application of collective agreements. Guidelines Compliance Table.

Protocol on the Operation of the ESMA MiFID Database

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On January 29, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its protocol on the operation of its MiFID database (ESMA/2013/68b).

The protocol relates to practical arrangements for the cooperation of the national competent authorities (NCAs) of the member states and the staff of ESMA. The purpose behind it is to ensure these bodies manage the calculation and publication of market transparency calculations required under Article 33 of the MiFID Implementing Regulation (Regulation 1287/2006) between them. Protocol.

ESA Issues ESMA and EBA Consultation for Securities and Banking Complaints Handling

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On November 6, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) issued a consultation paper by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) concerning draft guidance for the handling of complaints in the securities and banking industries. This guidance aims to:

  • clarify expectations on firms’ procedures for complaints handling;
  • give guidance on the provision of information to complainants and the procedures for answering complaints;
  • harmonize the complaint handling arrangements of firms in order to help protect consumers; and
  • set a minimum level of supervision for firms’ complaint handling arrangements on an EU-wide basis.

The guidance applies to investment firms, UCITS management companies and UCITS investment companies that have not designated a management company, AIFMs providing MiFID services, credit institutions and e-money institutions.

The deadline for responses to the consultation is February 7, 2014, with the final report scheduled to be published in the first quarter of 2014.  Consultation Paper.

ESMA Produces Guideline on AIFMD Reporting Obligations

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On October 1, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published guidelines on reporting obligations under Articles 3 and 24 of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in Annex II of its final report.  The aim of the guidelines is to provide clarification on:

  • the information that alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) should report to national competent authorities (NCAs);
  • the timing of the reports; and
  • the procedures to be followed when AIFMs move from one reporting obligation to another.

Following translation of the guidelines into the official languages of the EU, a two-month notification period will be triggered during which NCAs must notify ESMA whether they comply, or intend to comply, with the guidelines.  Final Report.