Background
Today’s public information on companies and financial products is scattered across many different places (e.g., issuer websites, national or EU public registers). With ESAP, all this information will be centrally accessible in one single place, searchable based on common criteria.
The “ESAP Regulation” gave ESMA the mandate to establish and operate the EU’s public portal, providing easier access to all publicly available information. ESAP will give companies greater visibility towards investors, which is particularly important for small businesses in small capital markets to attract EU and international investment. ESAP will also contain sustainability-related information published by companies to support the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The ESAP is a two-tier system: information is first collected from reporting entities by a “Collection Body” (which may be the NCA, another national body or register, or an EU body such as one of the ESAs) and then submitted to ESAP, so that the information can then be provided to the public on the ESMA-operated portal.