ESMA publishes 2023 data on cross-border investment activity of firms

July 15, 2024--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, together with the National Competent Authorities (NCAs), completed an analysis of the cross-border provision of investment services during 2023.
The data sets were collected from investment firms across 30 jurisdictions in the EU/EEA.

The main findings include:

A total of around 386 firms provided services to retail clients on a cross-border basis in 2023;
Approximately 8 million clients in the EU/EEA received investment services from firms located in other EU/EEA Member States in 2023;
Compared to 2022, the cross-border market for investment services grew by 1.6% in terms of firm numbers, and by 5% in terms of retail clients, while the number of complaints increased by 31%;
Cyprus is the primary location for firms providing cross-border investment services in the EU/EEA, accounting for 20% of the total firms passporting investment services. Luxembourg and Germany follow with 15% and 14% of all firms, respectively; and
Germany, France, Spain, and Italy are the most significant destinations (in terms of number of retail clients) for investment firms providing cross-border services in other Member States.

ESMA finalises technical standards on derivatives transparency and the OTC derivatives tape

December 15, 2025-The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, published today the Final Report covering mandates under the MiFIR Review on derivatives trade transparency, package orders and the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives consolidated tape input and output data.