Rationale for revising the Guidelines

1. The purpose of this Consultation Paper is to propose a revision to ESMA’s Guidelines on the Periodic Information to be submitted by CRAs to ESMA (the 2015 Guidelines). These Guidelines were introduced in 2015 and helped establish the regular supply of information necessary for ESMA to carry out its supervisory responsibilities. However, since the introduction of the Guidelines in 2015 ESMA’s supervisory processes have evolved to a point where the timing, frequency and format of the information required by the 2015 Guidelines is no longer capable of supporting them in an efficient and effective manner.

2. It is with a view to addressing these deficiencies that ESMA proposes these revised Guidelines. This is done by first introducing a revised approach to determining a CRAs reporting obligations, moving away from a static distinction based on whether a CRA was liable for supervisory fees by proposing a dynamic distinction of reporting categorisations that are based on ESMA’s internal risk assessment. Second, by proposing more proportionate reporting frequencies based on these reporting categorisations. Third, by providing more specific reporting instructions for a number of existing periodic reporting requirements, to ensure the Guidelines are implemented in a consistent basis by all CRAs. Fourth, by introducing a number of new periodic reporting requirements where necessary to support ESMAs supervisory activities. Finally, by introducing standardised reporting templates for a number of new and existing items to ensure a streamlined approach to reporting for CRAs and a higher level of usability for the information received.