The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report containing draft amendments to the regulatory technical standards (RTS) on colleges for central counterparties (CCPs). These amendments align the RTS with Regulation (EU) No 2024/2987 (EMIR 3), which aims to mitigate excessive exposures to third-country CCPs and improve the efficiency of EU clearing markets.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report containing three draft technical standards related to the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). The package includes standards on single volume cap application, a new qualitative regime for systematic internalisers (SIs), and rules on circuit breakers aligned with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The proposed changes aim to simplify processes, reduce burdens, and provide enhanced legal clarity. The report has been sent to the European Commission, which has three months to decide on endorsing the standards.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on the technical advice for the European Commission on the penalty mechanism under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). The advice aims to incentivise all actors in the settlement chain to improve settlement efficiency, in addition to responding to the potential move to T+1 in the EU.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report containing draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) to update the list of documents set out Article 19(1) of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129). The proposed RTS would reintroduce the possibility of incorporating by reference documents approved or filed under the Prospectus Directive (Directive 2003/71/EC) and expand the list to include pre-issuance disclosures for bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable or sustainability-linked, as defined in the European Green Bond Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2631). This follows the removal of such references by the Listing Act Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/2809), which had affected the ability of issuers to reuse previously approved documentation, particularly for fungible issuances of non-equity securities. ESMA notes that the proposed changes are intended to reduce duplication, facilitate disclosure processes, and support access to capital markets. The RTS will be submitted to the European Commission, which is required to decide on adoption within three months, with a possible one-month extension.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final technical standards under EU Regulation 2024/3005, which focus on ensuring transparency and integrity in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings. Following a public consultation that received 57 responses, ESMA revised the standards to reduce the regulatory burden while preserving transparency objectives. The standards address authorisation and recognition applications, the separation of business activities, and disclosure requirements. ESMA has submitted the standards to the European Commission for adoption via delegated regulation, with application from 2 July 2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the findings of a peer review, which examined the supervision of depositaries, focusing on their oversight and safekeeping obligations. The review concluded that while foundational supervisory frameworks are in place, there are notable differences in the depth and maturity of supervisory practices across jurisdictions. While some National Competent Authorities (NCAs) demonstrated developed and detailed practices, others displayed areas requiring improvement. ESMA will continue to facilitate discussions on the supervision of depositaries and will follow up on the report’s recommendations in due course.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its first Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities (TRV) report of 2024, setting out the key risk drivers and structural developments facing financial markets. Among the risks drivers highlighted, ESMA says greenwashing and related malpractices risk undermining the credibility of green finance. With the first outflows from environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds in 2023, future incidences, unless prevented effectively, may undermine investor confidence. ESMA warns a further key risk driver stems from social media-driven investments by retail investors.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the 2024 EU Carbon Markets report, which looks at the functioning of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) market. This first edition of the report notes that the vast majority of emission allowance trading in secondary markets takes place through derivatives, reflecting the annual EU ETS compliance cycle where non-financial sector firms hold long positions (for compliance purposes) while banks and investment firms hold short positions.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its first code package on the public code repository GitHub to promote the availability and usage of its data. This package includes tools to search and download data from ESMA's public registers.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published guidance which seeks to clarify details for some of the documents that future applicants will be expected to provide when participating in the selection process for Consolidated Tapes Providers (CTPs).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a further update to the compliance table listing the competent authorities which comply or intend to comply with ESMA’s guidelines on certain aspects of the MiFID II compliance function.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a public statement addressing investor protection concerns raised by derivatives on fractions of shares.