ESMA’s Board Extends Office of its Chair and Executive Director

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA )’s Board of Supervisors has extended the terms of office for both its Chair, Steven Maijoor, and Executive Director, Verena Ross, for a period of another five years, according to an ESMA statement.

In particular, ESMA’s extension of Mr. Maijoor’s term is pending confirmation by the European Parliament. The decision to extend both Mr. Maijoor’s and Ms. Ross’s terms comes after successful respective tenures that have seen a number of directives put out from the group.

Among the more recent developments, ESMA was responsible for a ban of short-selling Greek equity markets this past July in light of a deteriorating debt crisis afflicting the country. Additionally, ESMA has been actively involved in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II/MiFIR) legislation.

According to Mr. Maijoor in a recent statement on the reappointments, “It has been a unique experience to chair ESMA in its formative years and it is an honour to have the trust from the Board for another five-year-term. I am looking forward to further building on our work to enhance investor protection and the stability of EU financial markets. I also look forward to discussing ESMA’s strategy, including its role in the Capital Markets Union, with the European Parliament.”

“I’m honoured by the decision of the Board to entrust me with the day-to-day running of ESMA for another five years. Building the organisation has been a fantastic experience and I look forward to continuing to ensure that ESMA runs in an efficient and effective way,” added Ms. Ross in an accompanying statement.

“This will contribute to implementing the regulatory reforms in the financial markets, particularly through ESMA’s enhanced focus on fostering supervisory convergence", she noted. In addition, ESMA has also made a series of appointments to serve as chairs of its standing committees. This includes:

• David Lawton, Director of Markets, Policy and International of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ), UK - in his new role he will chair the Investor Protection and Intermediaries Standing Committee;

• Misu Negritoiu, President of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), Romania - will chair the Committee on Economic Market Analysis; and

• Edwin Schooling Latter, Head of Market Policy of the FCA, will chair the Commodity Derivatives Task Force