[ESMA35-335435667-4321 ] 2022 Report on MiFID II sanctions

ESMA published a report with an overview of the sanctions and measures imposed by NCAs under the MiFID II framework in 2022. It aims to analyze the trends and developments in the enforcement of MiFID II regulations across EU/EEA Member States.
The data reported for 2022 a decrease in the overall activity of NCAs in imposing sanctions and measures compared to the previous year. However, there has been an increase in the number of Member States where sanctions and measures were applied and the total amount of fines imposed. The increased total amount of fines should be interpreted cautiously, as it includes some significant fines imposed by a few NCAs.
The report provides background information on the regulatory framework for reporting on MiFID II sanctions and measures. It explains the obligations of NCAs to provide aggregated information on the sanctions and measures imposed, including criminal sanctions, and the procedures for submitting this information to ESMA.
Furthermore, the report offers guidance for the interpretation of the reported sanctions and measures. It highlights the adoption of the Inventory of Enforcement Measures and Sanctions by the ESMA Board of Supervisors, which has helped develop a common understanding of enforcement and sanctioning powers among NCAs. This common understanding facilitates better comparison of the sanctions reported by different NCAs in the EU and EEA.
The report includes an overview of the general observations on NCAs‘ imposition of sanctions and measures under MiFID II. It acknowledges that imposing sanctions and measures can be complex and multifaceted, and cautions against drawing automatic parallels between the number of sanctions, the amount of fines, and the quality of supervisory activity.
Additionally, the report presents a global overview of the NCAs‘ imposed sanctions and measures from 2018 to 2022, indicating an increasing trend in the number of Member States, total sanctions/measures, and the aggregated amount of fines imposed over the years.
Finally, the report provides a detailed listing of the sanctions and measures imposed in 2022 by NCAs‘ Member States. It categorizes the sanctions and measures based on Level 1 provisions of MiFID II, such as Article 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 16.