The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released a new data strategy that will guide the handling of its data assets from 2023 to 2028. The changes are expected to benefit National Competent Authorities (NCAs) – supervisory bodies that oversee financial activity in EU member states. A corresponding report details how ESMA intends to scale up its data capabilities to become a “reliable data hub” that “facilitates data access, distribution, and analysis for NCAs achieving EU-wide synergies”.
The new five-year strategy is an update of the existing one, which dates back to 2017. Taking into account changes that have happened in the past six years, as well as future challenges, the strategy is guided by objectives focused on improving the quality of data, enhancing its accessibility – including machine readability, reducing reporting burdens, and using data for evidence-based policy development.
According to the report, an assessment of ESMA data capabilities conducted in 2021 concluded that the organisation has developed good processes for data reporting, usage, and analysis. However, its activities are at an “opportunistic” maturity level, which means that “initiatives and efforts to exploit data are not systematically coordinated internally” and that the “capacity to analyse, integrate, organise and access data could be more advanced”.
In light of the findings, ESMA has come up with an implementation plan that begins with onboarding NCAs to its data platform and culminates in the consolidation and analysis of multiple sources of data to make its usage more effective and efficient.