EFAMA comments on the Joint Committee Consultation Paper on guidelines for cross‐selling practices

20 March 2015

EFAMA strongly supports the notion of a level playing field rather than the current “vertical silo” approach to EU legislation on distribution and investor protection.

EFAMA questions whether it is the right point in time to supply guidelines on these cross ‐ sectorial issues in order to create a single rulebook. EFAMA is fully aware that MiFID II requires the ESAs to provide such Guidelines by 3rd January 2016, but this initiative comes at a time when the final Level 2 rules or MiFID II (and, in particular, the delegated acts) have not yet been published and certain important features on investor protection that are a key part of the  ross ‐selling provisions are not yet finalised. Moreover, this timing issue is further aggravated by major overhauls of other directly relevant Level ‐1 legislation (i.e. IMD II), which are still under negotiation.

Cross‐selling is defined differently under different parts of EU legislation. We therefore believe that the basis for the ESAs’ mandate to “establish [...] consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the ESFS, and to ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law” is not yet met and should therefore be delayed until a time when the required Union law has been implemented into Member States’ law. As regards the substance of the proposed Guidelines, EFAMA is concerned that they will add further disclosure requirements rather than making use of the existing EU frameworks. For asset managers the UCITS Directive, MiFID II and the PRIIP KID Regulation set high standards regarding disclosure.

EFAMA believes that the ESAs should make it clear that complying with these requirements should be regarded as sufficient to comply with the Guidelines for cross‐selling practices.

Full EFAMA position


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