On Friday, 26 February 2021 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the long awaited consultation on the regulatory and implementing technical standards for the implementation of the European Crowdfunding Service Provider for Business (ESCP) Regulation. EUROCROWD, with its members, will analyse the consultation and seek to help crowdfunding platforms to develop a relevant response to the consultation. We encourage every individual platform to submit their own input in due course, and are now working on offering a guideline. Following our work on supporting the European Commission, European Parliament and Council in developing and passing ECSP over the past 4 years, we are excited to see that ESMA has made good on their work to develop adequate RTS. ESMA develop 12 technical standards as per ESCP of which eight are regulatory technical standards (RTS) and four implementing technical standards (ITS). 

You can find the current proposal of ESMA here and our guidance to platforms seeking to submit here - the open consultation closes on 28 May 2021. Join our discussion on 25 May 2021 during CrowdTuesday at 14.00 CEST.

Crowdfunding platforms interested to help provide input may contact us via email at ecsp@eurocrowd.org  

We have scheduled a first internal review of the documents by mid March and will welcome any input prior or after. EUROCROWD and its members will aim to issue guidance on the consultation by early April. 

Consultation ESMA is seeking relevant input from stakeholders and industry around key issues addressed the legal text:

• Complaint handling;
• Conflicts of interest;
• Business continuity plan;
• Application for authorisation;
• Information to client on default rate of projects;
• Entry knowledge test and simulation of the ability to bear loss;
• Key investment information sheet;
• Reporting by crowdfunding service providers to NCAs (and NCAs to ESMA); and
• Publication of national provisions concerning marketing requirements.

This Consultation seeks input on nine draft technical standards developed by ESMA. Q&A on SPVs In a separate step, ESMA has published a first document with Questions and Answers on crowdfunding relating to the use of special purpose vehicles (SPV) under the ECSP. It addresses the following topics:

• The circumstances and conditions in which a SPV can be created for the provision of crowdfunding services;
• The types of instruments that can be offered to investors via a SPV;
• Whether a SPV can give exposure to more than one underlying asset;
• The type of underlying asset a SPV can give exposure to; and
• When an asset should be deemed to be illiquid or indivisible within the meaning of the ECSPR.
• Q&As on the use of SPV under the ECSPR.

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