The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published its Final Report on the Supervisory Expectations for the Management Body, outlining ESMA’s expectations for the management bodies of the entities under its supervision.
12 high-level principles to guide supervised entities
The 12 high-level principles are directed at entities supervised by ESMA and those looking to obtain an ESMA license. They are designed to set out ESMA’s core expectations in the form of outcomes. This is in line with ESMA’s goal to be a principle-based and outcome-focused supervisor.
The principles aim to foster the ongoing supervisory dialogue between ESMA and supervised entities in the context of the effectiveness of their governance and oversight. Each serving as an overarching framework, the principles allow entities to design individual approaches tailored to their circumstances driven by their nature, scale and complexity.
A management body plays a key role in the oversight of a financial services firm as it monitors its business strategy and the management of corresponding risks. ESMA’s supervisory expectations are intended to support firms and their directors by setting out the outcomes we are looking to achieve whilst allowing for flexibility in the ways they are reached.
Next steps
While primarily directed at entities currently supervised by ESMA, the report is also relevant to entities considering applying for ESMA registration and authorisation.
As the next step, ESMA’s supervisory teams will be integrating the 12 high-level principles into supervisory priorities over the course of 2026. We will look to engage with supervised entities on implementing the principles in a practical way. This should contribute to a strengthened oversight by the management bodies.
