The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), in coordination with the National Competent Authorities (NCAs) is closely monitoring the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on financial markets in the European Union.
Following a discussion of the Board of Supervisors examining the marketing situations and observing contingency measures taken by supervised entities, ESMA is making the following recommendations to financial market participants:
- Business Continuity Planning – all participants in the financial markets should have their contingency plans ready to execute, including deployment of business continuity measures, to ensure operational continuity in line with regulatory obligations;
- Market disclosure – issuers should disclose any relevant significant information about the impacts of Covid-19 on their fundamentals, prospects or financial situation as soon as possible in line with their transparency obligations under the Market Abuse Regulation;
- Financial Reporting – issuers should ensure transparency on the actual and potential impacts of Covid-19.
- Fund Management – asset managers should carry on with the implementation of requirements on risk management, and react accordingly
ESMA and NCAs will keep following the financial market developments and the impacts of Covid-19, ready to react if necessary, to ensure orderly functioning markets, financial stability and investor protection.
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