30 August 2010

European Issuers’ comments on the Commission’s Consultation Paper on the Review of the Transparency Directive

EuropeanIssuers welcomes the review and states that:

- there should be a distinction made between securities law, IFRS and company law concerning the annual report;
- a more holistic review of the burdens on small and mid-caps is needed;
- both issuers and investors should have the choice between different markets with differing regulatory intensity;
- the disclosure of holdings of cash-settled derivatives can be beneficial to the market;
- better disclosure of stock lending and hedging techniques would be helpful in preventing empty voting practices;
- investors should disclose their actual voting policies;
- is in favour of more uniform EU rules regarding the notification of major holdings of voting rights but not regarding issuers’ disclosures; and
- an EU requirement for shareholder identification would ensure greater transparency.

Full position paper