EU Agencies Expect Single Data Access Point to be Available from 2027
The European Union (EU) comprises 27 jurisdictions and this contributes to complexity in the form of the availability of disparate and inconsistent information to investors and other stakeholders. To address this challenge, the European authorities are working toward establishing a European Single Access Point (ESAP) that will provide centralized access to publicly available information of relevance to financial services, capital markets, and sustainability topics in the European Union. ESAP will also allow non-listed entities, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to make available information on a voluntary basis. With a recent provisional agreement on the proposal for ESAP regulation, the European Union has reached a significant milestone in this direction. Another such initiative has been the implementation of machine-readable, European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) for financial reporting across Europe; this initiative was aimed to ensure consistency and comparability of reported data and also appears to have significant contributory impact in this direction.
ESAP Overview
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will work to implement the ESAP, which is not expected to impose additional information reporting requirements on European companies. Rather, the ESAP proposal is part of the Capital Markets Union package and is expected to be an enabler of the European Commission Digital Finance Strategy; it is also aimed to provide easy access to reporting data such as the capital requirements reporting as well as the corporate sustainability reporting data from companies, which will support the objectives of the European Green Deal. Certain stakeholders are even comparing the ESAP with similar international projects such as the US EDGAR, the Japanese EDINET, and the Canadian SEDAR. The ESAP will be a European Union-wide platform that is expected to:
- Improve access to financial data, especially the data on SMEs
- Help address ESG data gaps, which are particularly challenging for SMEs
- Increase availability of machine-readable data
- Enable big data and artificial-intelligence-based services via increased use of structured data
- Require harmonization and standardization of information that companies disclose publicly
The ESAP package comprises a regulation on proposal establishing the ESAP, a proposal for a Directive amending certain existing Directives, and a proposal for a Regulation amending certain Regulations at European Union level. The ESAP platform is expected to be available from Summer of 2027, with a gradual phase-in of available data.
Scope and Implementation Approach
The agreed three-phase implementation approach spans nearly four years and is aimed to ensure that European regulations and directives will, in accordance with their priority, enter into the scope of ESAP. The agreement is provisional as it still needs to be confirmed by the Council and the Parliament before it can be formally adopted. The scope and expected implementation timelines of the three phases are described below:
- The Phase 1 scope will include information according to the European Short-Selling Regulation (236/2012), the Prospectus Regulation (2017/1129), and the Transparency Directive (2004/109/EC). This phase spans six months within ESAP being made public.
- Six months after ESAP has been made public (48 months after entry into force of the ESAP Regulation), phase 2 will begin. The scope of phase 2 will cover, among others, information according to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) regulation, and the Benchmarks Regulation.
- The final Phase 3 will include information stemming from nearly 20 additional pieces of legislation, including the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR), and the Green Bonds Regulation.
Key Functionalities of ESAP
Given the proposed implementation approach and timelines, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities is mandated to submit the implementing technical standards on the functionality of ESAP to the European Commission within one year of the entry into force of the ESAP regulation. The draft implementing technical standards to specify metadata and templates for information submitted on voluntary basis shall be developed as well. Article 7 of the proposed regulation requires ESMA to ensure that ESAP provides for, at least, the following functionalities:
- A web portal with a user-friendly interface in all the official languages of the Union to provide access to the information in the ESAP
- An application programming interface (API) enabling easy access to the information available in the ESAP
- A search function in all the official languages of the Union
- An information viewer
- A machine translation service for the information retrieved
- A download service, including the download of large quantities of data
- A notification service informing users of any new information available in the ESAP
To find out more about our Regulatory Studio solutions, you can visit Banking Cloud Microsite. Reporting Studio is part of the Banking Cloud suite of Software-as-a-Service solutions, designed to combine the benefits of cloud-native technology and Moody’s Analytics regulatory expertise. The solution brings together effective regulatory compliance, enhanced data management, business intelligence, and industry-leading reporting capabilities to help financial institutions reduce their regulatory burden and the total cost of compliance.
Related Links
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Securities, Investment Firms, Basel, ESG, Capital Markets Union, Regtech, ESAP, Reporting, Disclosures, Sustainable Finance, CRR, Suptech, EC
Featured Experts
María Cañamero
Skilled market researcher; growth strategist; successful go-to-market campaign developer
Nicolas Degruson
Works with financial institutions, regulatory experts, business analysts, product managers, and software engineers to drive regulatory solutions across the globe.
Patrycja Oleksza
Applies proficiency and knowledge to regulatory capital and reporting analysis and coordinates business and product strategies in the banking technology area
Related Articles
ISSB Sustainability Standards Expected to Become Global Baseline
The finalization of the two sustainability disclosure standards—IFRS S1 and IFRS S2—is expected to be a significant step forward in the harmonization of sustainability disclosures worldwide.
IOSCO, BIS, and FSB to Intensify Focus on Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is expected to increase in prominence, finding traction in use cases such as lending, trading, and investing, without the intermediation of traditional financial institutions.
BCBS Assesses NSFR and Large Exposures Rules in US
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published reports that assessed the overall implementation of the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) and the large exposures rules in the U.S.
Global Agencies Focus on ESG Data, Climate Litigation and Nature Risks
At the global level, supervisory efforts are increasingly focused on addressing climate risks via better quality data and innovative use of technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.
ISSB Standards Shine Spotlight on Comparability of ESG Disclosures
The finalization of the IFRS sustainability disclosure standards in late June 2023 has brought to the forefront the themes of the harmonization of sustainability disclosures
EBA Issues Several Regulatory and Reporting Updates for Banks
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently issued several regulatory publications impacting the banking sector.
BCBS Proposes to Revise Core Principles for Banking Supervision
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) launched a consultation on revisions to the core principles for effective banking supervision, with the comment period ending on October 06, 2023.
US Proposes Final Basel Rules, Transition Period to Start in July 2025
The U.S. banking agencies (FDIC, FED, and OCC) recently proposed rules implementing the final Basel III reforms, also known as the Basel III Endgame.
FSB Report Outlines Next Steps for Climate Risk Roadmap
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) recently published the second annual progress report on the July 2021 roadmap to address climate-related financial risks.
EBA Plans on Ad-hoc ESG Data Collection and Climate Scenario Exercise
The recognition of climate change as a systemic risk to the global economy has further intensified regulatory and supervisory focus on monitoring of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.
