The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today published its Final Report on the functioning of the regime for SME Growth Markets (GM) under MiFID/MiFIR. It contains recommendations and possible amendments to the MiFID II framework to the SME GM regime which are needed to improve the attractiveness of the regime.
The SME GMs regime in the EU, as it stands, has been relatively successful, with seventeen multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) registering as SME GMs to date. However, acknowledging that SMEs need further incentives to access capital markets, the report suggests targeted amendments to the SME GM regime in the MiFID II framework, aimed at simplifying investors’ access to information and promoting concentration of liquidity on SME GMs.
Among the proposed measures the Final Report includes recommendations to help promote the concentration of liquidity on SME GMs, to improve standardisation and access to information for investors and suggestions on how to develop homogeneous admission requirements.
ESMA is aware of the wider ongoing discussion to make capital markets more efficient for SMEs in the context of the Capital Market Union and fully supports the initiative. It is ready to contribute to this wider discussion with technical input if and where needed.
Next Steps
The report was submitted to the European Commission and is expected to be taken into consideration for further legislative proposals on the MiFID II SME GM regime.
Source ESMA: ESMA publishes Final Report on SME Growth Markets