Memo #
32165

ESMA, AMF, and BaFin Publish Strategic Priorities for 2020
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[32165]

January 22, 2020 TO: ICI Global Members SUBJECTS: International/Global
MiFID, EMIR, AIFMD, UCITS V RE: ESMA, AMF, and BaFin Publish Strategic Priorities for 2020

 

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the French Financial Market Authority (AMF) and the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) all recently issued documents outlining their strategic priorities for 2020 (or longer).  These documents are briefly summarized below. 

ESMA – Strategic Orientation for 2020-2022

ESMA has published its Strategic Orientation for 2020-22, which sets out its longer-term focus and core objectives for the next few years.[1]  These objectives are translated into concrete actions through the annual Programming Document and work program.  ESMA’s new strategic orientation takes into account the legislative amendments completing the review of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), which increase the focus on supervisory convergence, give a higher profile to investor protection, and entrust the direct supervision of certain benchmarks and data service providers to ESMA.  ESMA outlines the following priorities:

  1. promoting the development of a large retail investor base;
  2. promoting sustainable finance and long-term oriented capital markets;
  3. examining the opportunities and threats presented by digitalization; 
  4. advancing global standards to regulate capital markets; and
  5. furthering the Single Rulebook, while following a proportionate approach.

ESMA also states that it will continue to work on developing ESMA into a professional regulatory and supervisory authority by improving flexibility and efficiency, strengthening its accountability and transparency, developing its people, and enhancing its core administrative processes.

AMF – Supervisory Priorities for 2020

The AMF has published a document laying out the themes that will constitute its 2020 priorities with regard to the monitoring and supervision of market participants.[2] The AMF’s thematic priorities are broken down into three groups of activities:  portfolio management, other market intermediary activities carried out by investment services providers, and the distribution of financial instruments.  With respect to portfolio management, the AMF outlines the following five priorities:

  1. delegation of permanent controls;
  2. liquidity risk management;
  3. granting loans;
  4. cybersecurity; and
  5. anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. 

BaFin – Supervisory Priorities for 2020

In a recently released document (in German only), BaFin outlines its priorities for supervision in 2020.[3] BaFin states that, while ensuring stability and strong consumer protection within the German financial market remain its core priorities, the following four areas are additional key priorities for 2020:  (1) IT and cyber risks arising from digitalization, (2) fighting financial crime, (3) improving the sustainability of business models, and (4) sustainable finance.

 

Eva M. Mykolenko
Associate Chief Counsel - Securities Regulation

 

endnotes

[1] The document is available at: https://www.esma.europa.eu/file/54192/download?token=hK1RnPYH. 

[2] The document is available at: https://www.amf-france.org/en_US/Reglementation/Dossiers-thematiques/l-AMF/Plan-strategique-de-l-AMF/Priorites-de-supervision-2020-de-l-AMF?xtor=RSS-1&langSwitch=true.

[3] The document is available at: https://www.bafin.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Broschuere/dl_Aufsichtsschwerpunkte2020.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3.