CESR publishes updated FAQ on the transparency directive
28 October 2009
CESR’s recently published FAQ defines the purpose of an interim management statement and describes how an issuer can best describe its financial position. The FAQ is intended to provide market participants with responses in a quick and efficient manner.
The Transparency Directive 2004/109/EC (TD) became effective on 20 January 2007. The related Commission Level 2 Directive 2007/14/EC (L2D) became effective on 8 March 2008. In addition to the binding Level 1 and Level 2 directives, the Commission has issued a non-binding Recommendation 2007/657/EC on the electronic network of officially appointed mechanisms for central storage of regulated information.
Together, the two directives create a common basis for periodic information, major shareholding notifications and dissemination and storage of regulated information. Under the TD, each issuer has only one home Member State whose rules will be applied irrespective of which Member State the issuer’s securities have been admitted to trading on a regulated market. Pursuant to Article 3 of the TD, the home Member State is allowed to impose more stringent requirements than those laid out in the TD.
These are some of the new questions being posed:
· What is the purpose of an Interim Management Statement (IMS)?
· What is a ‘material’ event or transaction?
· Should financial data be employed in an IMS?
· How can an issuer describe its financial position or financial performance?
· Is it possible to delay announcements in order to publish inside information within a planned IMS?
© CESR - Committee of European Securities Regulators
