Modifiche al Regolamento Emittenti relative alle domande di approvazione dei prospetti: documento di consultazione

Consob submitted to the market for consultation amendments to the Issuers‘ Regulation concerning the regulation of prospectuses. Consob aims to further simplify the procedural process for submitting approval applications for informational prospectuses related to public offerings of stocks, bonds, investment fund shares and admission to trading on the stock exchange to enhance the Italian financial market’s competitiveness.
The context includes both EU and national initiatives, such as the ongoing development of the Listing Act and the Italian Green Book on Italian financial market competitiveness.
The amendments include the introduction of electronic templates for approval applications, reduced document requirements, and the option to submit questions upfront for a more efficient review. These templates are differentiated based on the nature of the securities involved (equity securities, non-equity securities, or fund shares), providing a standardized format for electronic completion, reducing the risk of errors. Each template includes a list of required documents, thus eliminating unnecessary attachments, which are not mandated by European regulations.
The application form is designed with options for guided selection among predefined alternatives (dropdown menus) and specific fields to fill in. This approach eliminates the need to repeat various approval application forms based on the document submitted to Consob (single prospectus, registration document, information or summary note). It also removes the distinction in the application based on the type of transaction (public offer and/or admission to trading) as outlined in Annexes 1A and 1C of the Issuers‘ Regulation. The new template allows for the digital signing of the approval application.
Taking advantage of this regulatory intervention, a modification regarding advertising announcements has been included in the consultation document. It clarifies that the obligation to transmit advertising announcements to Consob applies only in cases where the offering requires the publication of the prospectus.
Observations on the consultation document must reach Consob by 29 January 2024, either by mail or online through Sipe.
Following the consultation, the templates will be made available in English. Regulatory intervention aligns with Consob’s commitment in recent years to consistently reduce the average scrutiny and approval times for prospectuses, meeting the expected time to market for operators, facilitating access to capital and debt markets, and reducing associated administrative burdens.