ESMA publishes peer review on cross-border supervision

ESMA has published its peer review on cross-border supervision of investment firms, and.  It found many shortcomings, and says that “home” regulators need to make significant improvements to their approach to authorisation, supervision and enforcement in relation to firms’ cross-border activities.  The exercise focussed on the Dutch, German, Czech, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Malta regulators, as countries whose domestically authorised firms have significant cross border activities.  The review has led ESMA to issue a particular set of recommendations to the Cyprus regulator.  It wants CySEC to increase the human resources for supervision of the cross-border activities of its firms and strengthen enforcement. The review found the highest levels of complaints and requests for information relating to Cypriot firms, and also noted the high risk of consumer detriment given the number of CySEC authorised firms that provide services involving speculative products.