The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, is launching today new consultations on different aspects of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) Refit. The proposed rules relate to the information to be provided by European CSDs to their national competent authorities (NCAs) for the review and evaluation, the information to be notified to ESMA by third-country CSDs, and the scope of settlement discipline.

The draft rules are set out in three separate consultation papers, covering:

The review and evaluation process of EU CSDs, suggesting a harmonisation of the information to be shared by CSDs on their cross-border activities and the risks to be considered by the relevant authorities for the purpose of feeding the overall assessment of the competent authorities;
Third country CSDs, where ESMA is proposing to streamline the information to be notified, aiming for an accurate understanding of the provision of notary, central maintenance and settlement services in the Union, limiting the reporting burden; and
The scope of settlement discipline, covering ESMA’s proposals on the underlying cause of settlement fails that are considered as not attributable to the participants in the transaction, and the circumstances in which operations are not considered as trading.
The CSDR Refit aims to fine-tune and further clarify the CSDR framework. All the policy mandates under consultation today will contribute towards the effective recalibration of the CSDR regime.