The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has launched a discussion paper with the aim to gather feedback on how to cut red tape around fund reporting.
According to the paper, requirements currently mean that the asset management sector is subject to significant fragmentation “due to the coexistence of several reporting regimes at national and European level, resulting in high compliance burdens”.
Thus, the paper outlines options for improving different aspects of reporting, such as the scope of data, reporting processes and systems to ensure more efficient reporting and sharing of data between the authorities. These include proposals related to the integration of multiple reporting templates and the centralisation of reporting processes and infrastructures.
This paper adds to ESMA’s simplification and burden reduction initiative, launched earlier this year, and it is directly contributing to the debate on how to simplify, harmonise and eliminate barriers to produce an effective burden reduction in the financial sector, while preserving the main objectives of financial stability, orderly markets and investor protection.
ESMA stated that its actions “mark a shift from technical sectorial amendments to an integrated approach in funds supervisory reporting, similar to the comprehensive approach to financial transaction reporting. The idea is to take a step back and review reporting in a more comprehensive manner rather than focusing on the incremental sectorial changes.”
The deadline for submissions against the paper is set as 21 September 2025. Thereafter, a consultation period will lead to a final report, expected by April 2026.
