The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will launch a common supervisory action (CSA) with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on ESG disclosures under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR).
ESMA, the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, aims for the CSAs to assess compliance of the supervised benchmarks administrators with the ESG disclosure requirements in the BMR.
The CSA will focus on both the disclosure of ESG factors in the benchmarks statement and in the benchmarks methodology and specific disclosure requirements regarding climate benchmarks methodology.
The new CSA will be ESMA’s first in its role as a direct supervisor of benchmarks administrators. The CSA will be carried out during 2024 and carry through until early the following year.
ESMA says: “[We] believe this initiative, and the related sharing of practices across the competent authorities, will help ensure consistent and effective supervision of the ESG disclosures of supervised administrators across the Union, and enhance the comparability of the information provided to users of benchmarks. The CSA contributes to enhancing transparency and addressing greenwashing, one of ESMA’s Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities for NCAs, with a view to protecting investors and further supporting the development of a credible ESG market.”
