Supervision Process for Regulated Markets

General

The supervision process for Regulated Markets and their Market Operators mirrors the general supervision process of the Central Bank of Ireland in respect of other regulated entities. 

All Irish Market Operators and their Regulated Markets, whether engaged in international or domestic activities, are expected to implement best practice

Governance

Market Operators and their Regulated Markets must have systems and policies in place to mitigate risk and monitor compliance with their internal policies. 

Supervisory Process

The Central Bank of Ireland’s supervisory process is carried out by way of:

• Analysis of reports and financial returns submitted to the Central Bank of Ireland
• Review of proposals (e.g., amendments to authorisation, changes in senior management, changes in ownership, proposed engagement in new activities etc.) submitted to the Central Bank of Ireland
• Review of business activities
• Inspections
• Regular review meetings
• Regular correspondence and engagement

The role of the Markets Supervision Division involves oversight of the quality of each Market Operator’s corporate governance, risk management and internal control systems.

Regulatory Requirements

There are further regulatory requirements in respect of Fitness and Probity.  The basic Fitness and Probity requirements and their application in respect of Market Operators are outlined below.

Fitness and Probity

A sound and effective fit-and-proper test is a critical component of the regulatory regime. 

To ensure the proper discharge of their responsibilities, it is important that Directors and Managers have the skills to manage a Market Operator.

“Fitness” requires that a person appointed as a Director or Manager has the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to perform the duties of that position.  “Probity” requires that a person is honest, fair and ethical.

Before being appointed, a new Director or Manager of a Market Operator must demonstrate that he/she meets the required fit and proper standards. 

Further information on the “fit and proper test” can be found in the Fitness and Probity section of this website.

Pre-and Post-Trade Transparency

Waivers

Please see the attached Notice  regarding the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 (as amended): Waivers from Pre-Trade Transparency Requirements.

List of Regulated Markets, Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs), Systematic Internalisers and Central Counterparties Published by ESMA

ESMA has published a list of Regulated Markets, MTFs, Systematic Internalisers and Central Counterparties on its website.  Please link to ESMA website here.

List of Shares Published by ESMA

As required by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1287/2006 of 10 August 2006, the relevant competent authorities have published information regarding all shares that are admitted to trading on a regulated market. 

ESMA has collected this information and published it on its website. 

List of Trading Venues and Identification Codes

Competent authorities have an obligation, under MiFID, to publish a list of identification codes of the Regulated Markets and MTFs for which they are the home Member State and any entities which act as central counterparties for such Regulated Markets and MTFs. 

The following information is provided by the Central Bank of Ireland as competent authority under the MiFID in Ireland:

EUREX Clearing AG acts as the central counterparty for:

• Main Securities Market of the Irish Stock Exchange
• Enterprise Securities Market of the Irish Stock Exchange 

ESMA has published a consolidated list of identification codes of all Regulated Markets and MTFs and any entities that act as central counterparties for such Regulated Markets and MTFs. This database can be accessed on the links section of this website.  

Operation of a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF)

The Markets Supervision Division of the Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for approving the rules of an MTF. 

The Central Bank of Ireland has developed guidelines on what is involved in establishing an MTF in Ireland. These guidelines can be accessed in the MiFID Application Form and MiFID Guidance Note in the Authorisation Process for MiFID Firms section of this website.