European Securities and Markets Authority

European Securities and Markets Authority
Agency overview
Formed 1 January 2011 (2011-01-01)
Preceding
Jurisdiction European Union
Headquarters Paris, France
Agency executives
  • Steven Maijoor, Chairperson
  • Verena Ross, Executive Director
Key document
Website esma.europa.eu

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is a European Union financial regulatory institution and European Supervisory Authority,[1] located in Paris.

ESMA replaced the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on 1 January 2011. It is one of the three new European Supervisory Authorities set up within the European System of Financial Supervisors.

Overview

ESMA works in the field of securities legislation and regulation to improve the functioning of financial markets in Europe, strengthening investor protection and co-operation between national competent authorities.

The idea behind ESMA is to establish an "EU-wide financial markets watchdog". One of its main tasks is to regulate credit rating agencies. In 2010 credit rating agencies were criticized for the lack of transparency in their assessments and for a possible conflict of interest.[2] At the same time, the impact of the assigned ratings became significant for companies and banks but also states.

In October 2017, ESMA organised its first conference which was held in Paris. The event examined issues critical to European financial markets and was attended by 350 participants.[3]

ESMA’s Product Intervention Measures

ESMA announced that from 1st August 2018 there will be some modifications surrounding contract for difference (CFDs) and spread betting for retail clients. The most significant change being that the leverage that retail clients can trade with will be restricted to 30:1 and 2:1, depending on the volatility of the underlying asset traded.[4] These restrictions only apply to traders categorized as retail investors. Experienced traders, which fall under the category of professional clients, aren’t included. This also means that professional clients do not receive the same investor protections as retail investors.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ "EUROPA – Press Releases – A turning point for the European financial sector". Europa.eu. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "EU plans new financial regulator for rating agencies". BBC News. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Steven Maijoor on the State of European Financial Markets". www.esma.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  4. ↑ "ESMA ADOPTS FINAL PRODUCT INTERVENTION MEASURES ON CFDS AND BINARY OPTIONS". Europa.eu. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "ESMA's product intervention measures in relation to CFDs and binary options offered to retail investors" (PDF). Europa.eu. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
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