In this act Article 19 of 26
Article 19 — Criteria and factors for the purposes of ESMA temporary product intervention powers (Article 40(2) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014)
Financial servicesLevel 2Delegated RegulationMiFIRIn forceOfficial source
1.For the purposes of Article 40(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014, ESMA shall assess the relevance of all factors and criteria listed in paragraph 2, and take into consideration all relevant factors and criteria in determining when the marketing, distribution or sale of certain financial instruments or financial instruments with certain specified features or a type of financial activity or practice creates a significant investor protection concern or a threat to the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets or to the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, ESMA may determine the existence of a significant investor protection concern or a threat to the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets or to the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union based on one or more of those factors and criteria.
2.The factors and criteria to be assessed by ESMA to determine whether there is a significant investor protection concern or a threat to the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets or to the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union shall be the following:
— the type of the underlying or reference assets and the degree of transparency of the underlying or reference assets;
— the degree of transparency of costs and charges associated with the financial instrument, financial activity or financial practice and, in particular, the lack of transparency resulting from multiple layers of costs and charges;
— the complexity of the performance calculation, taking into account in particular whether the return is dependent on the performance of one or more underlying or reference assets which are in turn affected by other factors or whether the return depends not only on the values of the underlying or reference assets at the initial and maturity dates, but also on the values during the lifetime of the product;
— the nature and scale of any risks;
— whether the instrument or service is bundled with other products or services; or
— the complexity of any terms and conditions;
— the notional value of the financial instrument;
— the number of clients, investors or market participants involved;
— the relative share of the product in investors' portfolios;
— the probability, scale and nature of any detriment, including the amount of loss potentially suffered;
— the anticipated duration of the detrimental consequences;
— the volume of the issuance;
— the number of intermediaries involved;
— the growth of the market or sales; or
— the average amount invested by each client in the financial instrument;
— whether the client is a retail client, a professional client or an eligible counterparty;
— clients' skills and abilities, including the level of education, experience with similar financial instruments or selling practices;
— clients' economic situation, including their income and wealth;
— clients' core financial objectives, including pension saving and home ownership financing; or
— whether the instrument or service is being sold to clients outside the intended target market or whether the target market has not been adequately identified;
— the type and transparency of the underlying;
— any hidden costs and charges;
— the use of techniques drawing clients' attention but not necessarily reflecting the suitability or overall quality of the financial instrument, financial activity or financial practice;
— the nature of risks and transparency of risks; or
— the use of product names or terminology or other information that imply a greater level of security or return than those which are actually possible or likely, or which imply product features that do not exist;
— the leverage inherent in the product;
— the leverage due to financing;
— the features of securities financing transactions; or
— the fact that the value of any underlying is no longer available or reliable;
— the structuring costs of such financial instrument, activity or practice and other costs;
— the disparity in relation to the issuer's risk retained by the issuer; or
— the risk/return profile;
— the bid/ask spread;
— the frequency of trading availability;
— the issuance size and size of the secondary market;
— the presence or absence of liquidity providers or secondary market makers;
— the features of the trading system; or
— any other barriers to exit;
— the use of hidden or secondary charges; or
— charges that do not reflect the level of service provided;
— the degree of innovation related to the structure of the financial instrument, financial activity or financial practice, including embedding and triggering;
— the degree of innovation relating to the distribution model or length of the intermediation chain;
— the extent of innovation diffusion, including whether the financial instrument, financial activity or financial practice is innovative for particular categories of clients;
— innovation involving leverage;
— the lack of transparency of the underlying; or
— the past experience of the market with similar financial instruments or selling practices;
— the communication and distribution channels used;
— the information, marketing or other promotional material associated with the investment;
— the assumed investment purposes; or
— whether the decision to buy is secondary or tertiary following an earlier purchase;
— the financial situation of the issuer or any guarantor; or
— the transparency of business situation of the issuer or guarantor;
— any fraud or dishonesty;
— misconduct in, or misuse of information in relation to a financial market;
— handling the proceeds of crime;
— the financing of terrorism; or
— facilitating money laundering;