Concern mounts over ESMA?s workload

Vincent O’Sullivan, Member of the FS Regulatory Centre of Excellence at PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK.

Seven trade associations, including the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, European Banking Federation and the Alternative Investment Management Association, are concerned that the huge workload facing the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the other European Security Authorities (ESAs) could derail the momentum and jeopardise the quality of financial regulatory reform in the EU. In a joint letter[1] to the European Commission, European Parliament and EU Council on 17 January 2012, the trade associations indicated that all ESMA’s 2012 work programmes was unrealistic given their limited resources and that the timelines for key pieces of legislation should now be reconsidered.