Mifid co-operation on branch supervision improving, says Cesr

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PARIS – The Committee of European Securities Regulators (Cesr) has reported its progress on regulatory co-operation regarding the supervision of branches, as part of its efforts to oversee the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid).

Sixteen agreements for the supervision of branches have been made by Cesr members since Mifid’s implementation across the EU on November 1, 2007. Cesr highlights this as an important step towards transparent supervision and regulatory co-operation.

Jean-Paul Servais, chairman of Cesr’s Mifid Level 3 expert group, says: “Less than a year after implementation, Cesr can be proud of the progress that has been made in promoting supervisory co-operation – the results prove the framework works. I am aware negotiations are ongoing to conclude further agreements and it is vital we keep up the momentum to ensure effective and consistent supervision of Mifid.”

According to Cesr, co-operation can either be in the form of joint supervision through common oversight programmes, or via requests for assistance based on allocation of supervisory tasks. The second approach is generalised, while the first is tailored for specifically important branch operations.

Standing requests for assistance have so far been concluded between regulators in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, Greece, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in addition to three common oversight programmes between the UK’s Financial Services Authority and German regulator BaFin.