On 11 March 2024, the European Commission (the Commission) published:

  • Commission Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 2020/1732 as regards harmonisation of certain aspects of fees charged by ESMA to securitisation repositories.
  • Commission Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 272/2012 as regards harmonisation of certain aspects of fees charged by ESMA to credit rating agencies (CRAs).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has a complex fee funding system based on several legal bases in sectoral legislation. There are currently seven delegated acts laying down the calculation and payment modalities of the fees charged to the different types of entities under ESMA’s direct supervision. For example, ESMA charges fees to securitisation repositories in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation 2020/1732, adopted pursuant to Article 16(2) of the Securitisation Regulation. ESMA also charges fees to CRAs in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation 272/2012, adopted pursuant to Article 19(2) of the Regulation on CRAs.

Based on the recommendations from the Internal Audit Service, the European Court of Auditors and the technical advice provided by ESMA, the Commission aims to align technical aspects of the fee collection process across ESMA’s supervisory mandates. This requires amending five out of seven delegated regulations. The delegated regulations on central counterparties and on data reporting service providers will not be included in this exercise as they already converge on the main relevant aspects. ESMA has already issued Delegated Regulations concerning the fees that it charges to benchmark administrators under the Benchmarks Regulation and trade repositories under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation and the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation.

The amendments to Delegated Regulations 2020/1732 and 272/2012, together with the other delegated acts on fees charged by ESMA, will ensure consistency regarding the notion of applicable turnover, payment modalities and the general budgetary approach and thus reduce the complexity of ESMA’s fees management.

The Delegated Regulations enter into force on the twentieth day following their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. They shall apply from 1 January 2025.