Date: 27th August 2019
Author: BETTER FINANCE

The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has had an unintended knock-on effect on the assessment of the transparency of financial products, causing a disagreement between the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Whereas ESMA is required to provide an assessment of the compliance of certain financial products with transparency obligations on a yearly basis, it has asked the EC to postpone the annual assessment due to the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU.

“ESMA considers that the remaining uncertainties regarding the timing and conditions of Brexit do not allow for an adequate assessment at this point in time. Including or excluding UK data from the assessment would have a fundamental impact on the results. Including or excluding UK data from the assessment would have a fundamental impact on the results and any decision whether to include UK data would depend on whether the UK is still a member of the Union at the time any legislative change would take effect.”[1]

The European Commission has a different point of view: in a letter dated 1 August[2], its Director General for Financial Services, Olivier Guersent, argues that it is precisely because of the future exit of the UK from the EU that this review must be conducted urgently.

[1] https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/library/esma70-156-1432_letter_chair_to_o_guersent_-_postponement_of_the_first_rts_2_annual_report.pdf
[2] http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11624-2019-INIT/en/pdf