The European Securities and Markets Authority is expected to announce the selected bond market data provider by July 2025, encouraging all stakeholders to meet the technical and regulatory requirements in time for the system’s launch. Photo: Esma

The European Securities and Markets Authority is expected to announce the selected bond market data provider by July 2025, encouraging all stakeholders to meet the technical and regulatory requirements in time for the system’s launch. Photo: Esma

The European Securities and Markets Authority has confirmed that the bond market data provider will be selected by early July 2025, urging market participants to prepare ahead of the launch and avoid relying on an extended transition period.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) has confirmed its intention to select the official consolidated tape provider (CTP) for bonds by early July 2025, marking a significant step towards increasing transparency in the European bond market. on Wednesday 2 April 2025, this decision is expected to have a strong impact on data reporting practices and is part of a broader regulatory initiative aimed at aligning bond market operations with stricter transparency and data-sharing standards.

Esma stated that the selection process, which began on 3 January 2025, remains on track. The chosen provider will be authorised to operate for a five-year term and will need to apply for regulatory approval promptly.

Once the selection procedure concludes, Esma advised all data contributors to engage with the chosen CTP for bonds to ensure necessary preparatory actions are completed. These steps include, but are not limited to, ensuring connectivity, licensing and other technical arrangements.

In its assessment of the situation, Esma indicated that the European Commission is unlikely to make significant changes to the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) released on 16 December 2024. These RTS specify requirements for data contributions to the CTP, including input and output data formats, synchronisation of business clocks and bond transparency standards. Esma has urged market participants to use the draft RTS as the basis for their preparatory steps ahead of the CTP’s operational launch.

The RTS adoption process involves EC endorsement, followed by review by the European Parliament and Council. Once published in the Official Journal of the EU, these standards will become legally binding across all member states.

Whilst the markets in financial instruments regulation (Mifir) allows for a short transition period, Esma emphasised that such a provision will only be granted if requested by the selected CTP. The regulator strongly advised all market participants to prepare with the assumption that no extended transition period will be provided.

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