ESMA says EU access to non-EU securities depositories should survive the January cliff
Serguey Asael Shinder1 min readThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on 7 October saying that EU market participants should not be prevented from accessing third-country central securities depositories (CSDs) beyond 17 January 2027, until the EU finalises legislation extending the current transitional regime.
The deadline. Under the current transitional regime, certain non-EU CSDs may provide notary and central maintenance services for financial instruments constituted under the law of an EU member state. That regime is set to end on 17 January 2027.
The fix in progress. The Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), still under negotiation, proposes extending the regime. ESMA says it understands that both the Council and the European Parliament support an extension — but the political agreement has not yet been reached, and the deadline is fixed in current law.
Why ESMA spoke now. Market participants, issuers in particular, had raised concerns about whether they would keep access to third-country CSD services before a political deal arrives, and about the operational problems that uncertainty could cause. ESMA says the statement is meant to support the orderly functioning of EU capital markets well ahead of the January date. The statement is reference ESMA74-2119945926-3877.
What it is and is not. A supervisory statement of this kind signals how national authorities should approach a gap; it does not itself change the regulation. The legal fix still has to come from the co-legislators through MISP.