The ”substantial work” carried out by national competent authorities (NCAs) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has led to “observable results and improvements” in data quality under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). This was noted in a recent report by ESMA itself, which was published as a follow-up to its 2019 peer review into supervisory actions.
Aimed at “enhancing the quality of data reported under EMIR”, the 2019 peer review assessed the supervisory approaches of five NCAs in Cyprus, Germany, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, as well as ESMA in its role as supervisor of trade repositories. It found that when it came to EMIR data quality, the five NCAs were “at very different stages of their supervisory journey”. To address the shortcomings identified, the peer review proposed “short and long-term supervisory and policy recommendations”.
Progress
The latest report follows up on the progress made on those recommendations five years later. It concludes that the joint efforts of the NCAs and ESMA, with input from stakeholders such as the European Central Bank (ECB) and European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) have resulted in “tangible” benefits for all data users.
Counted among the data users are the authorities, who depend on data to “ensure sound, timely, and effective supervision of the financial markets”. The quality of this data is thus a “key area of attention”, writes the report.
Continued efforts
It concludes that “NCAs and ESMA should continue working on enhancing EMIR data quality and on using the appropriate tools – including enforcement when needed – to drive up standards and ensure that counterparties submit information in an accurate, complete, consistent, and timely manner”.
In addition, ESMA reminds supervised entities that ensuring data quality should be one of their primary duties. “Firms, and in particular their top management, are expected to take ownership of the data they report and increase its use also for internal purposes, as the more data is used, the more it can improve.”