The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its first peer review on the national supervision of central securities depositories (CSDs) that are providing cross-border services or participating in interoperable links.
The financial markets regulator and supervisor for the EU will be following up on this review with a report every three years as required by the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR).
The review looked at how six National Competent Authorities (NCAs) supervise CSDs that take part in cross-border activities involving other EU member states. It included on-site visits to the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK), and the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) – NCAs in Luxembourg, Latvia and Belgium respectively.
Key findings showed that NCAs are performing satisfactorily in initial authorisation processes, and that the tools and procedures used for assessing cross-border links are adequate. Areas with room for improvement include approval processes for passporting in hosting authorities, and cooperation with the home authorities of foreign CSDs.
Read the full review here.