News of the week:
Finfluencers, ESMA issues tips for responsible conduct
Open Finance, a lever for market development when accompanied by user protection - Consob FinTech Notebook No. 17 published
Memorandum of understanding and collaboration between the Chamber of Deputies and Consob

Consob's decisions of the week

- NEWS OF THE WEEK -

ESMA, the European Union's financial markets regulatory and supervisory authority, has issued tips for finfluencers, or financial influencers, whose online activities can have negative consequences for their followers when the necessary precautions are not taken.

Promoting a financial product or service on social media is not the same as promoting shoes or watches, explains the factsheet published on the ESMA and Consob websites. Telling people what to invest in, or what to avoid, can be considered a form of investment advice that requires authorisation from the competent national authority. Disclaimers such as 'This is not investment advice' are not enough to protect you from the legal consequences of unauthorised promotions.

ESMA's guidance to financial influencers therefore urges them to avoid providing advice without meeting the legal requirements, not to spread misleading or reckless messages, and to declare any compensation, gifts or other benefits related to the promotion, using clear terms such as 'advertisement', 'sponsored' or 'paid collaboration', and to disclose any personal interests, for example if they already invest in the instrument being discussed.

One section is dedicated to high-risk products, such as contracts for difference (CFDs), currency trading, futures, certain crowdfunding initiatives and volatile crypto-assets. ESMA asks that untruthful or misleading communications be avoided, clearly distinguishing facts from opinions and highlighting the possibility of losing up to 100% of the capital invested. It also warns against making big promises: the risks of investing must be highlighted, not just the benefits, without creating pressure or urgency with messages such as 'get rich quick'. The Authority also stresses the need for influencers to check whether the operators they are communicating about are authorised, so as not to risk promoting scams.

Finally, among the practical suggestions for acting safely: 'Be honest and clear, do not pretend to have skills you do not have, and think before you post: if in doubt, do not do it'.

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Financial data management is changing rapidly. What began with payment account data (open banking) now extends to a much broader set of financial information - investments, insurance, financing - paving the way for broader financial data sharing (open finance), with concrete effects on services, markets and user protection.

Consob FinTech Notebook No. 17, ‘Financial data aggregation within the open finance perspective’, analyses this evolution, combining empirical evidence and regulatory analysis, with a particular focus on a central principle: data remains available to the user and can only be used with their consent.

A survey of 460 financial advisors shows that the adoption of data aggregation services (Account Information Services - AIS) depends mainly on:

• familiarity with technology, which affects the ability to integrate these tools into daily operations and exploit their potential;
• the ability to accompany clients in digital finance, strengthening awareness, trust and responsible use of data-based services.

In this process, the adviser increasingly plays the role of facilitator and guide.

The Notebook also explores the evolving regulatory framework and the challenges related to data security, protection of rights and user trust, which are essential elements for the sustainable development of open finance.

Open finance can become an important lever for more efficient markets and more targeted services, if innovation and user protection go hand in hand.

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Initiatives for discussion, in-depth seminars and staff exchanges for the implementation of specific projects or study missions. These are the main points of the memorandum of understanding signed by the Chamber of Deputies and Consob, which aims to enhance and strengthen staff skills by sharing organisational practices to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their activities.

The memorandum, signed by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana, and the President of the National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, Paolo Savona, also provides for mutual access to library services, including digital services, and a programme of seminars on topics of common interest.

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• The Head of Consob's Intermediary Supervision and Investor Protection Division accepted the application for revocation due to the express renunciation by Trade Capital Italia Sim Spa of its authorisation to carry out investment services/activities of trading on own account, execution of orders on behalf of clients, placement without irrevocable commitment to the issuer, receiving and transmitting orders, and providing investment advice, as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, letters a), b), c-bis), e) and f) of Legislative Decree 58/1998, and the removal of the same from the register of SIMs, as referred to in Article 20, paragraph 1 of the same decree.  The full text of Executive Decision No. 148 of 14 November 2025 is available on the website www.consob.it.
• The Head of Consob's Intermediary Supervision and Investor Protection Division accepted the request for revocation due to the express waiver by Tifosy Italia Sim Spa of its authorisation to provide investment services involving placement without irrevocable commitment to the issuer and the receipt and transmission of client orders, as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, letters c-bis) and e) of Legislative Decree 58/1998, and the cancellation of the same from the register of SIMs, referred to in Article 20, paragraph 1, of the same decree, as well as the revocation, due to the express waiver by Tifosy Italia Sim Spa, of the authorisation to perform the crowdfunding service referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, letter a), sub ii), of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503. The full text of Executive Decision No. 152 of 19 December 2025 is available on the website www.consob.it.
• The Head of Consob's Intermediary Supervision and Investor Protection Division has accepted the request for revocation due to the express renunciation by Ecomill Srl of the authorisation to carry out crowdfunding services referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, letter a), sub i) and ii), of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503. The full text of Executive Decision No. 153 of 19 December 2025 is available on the website www.consob.it.
• The Head of Consob's Intermediary Supervision and Investor Protection Division has confirmed the authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider for the exercise of the service referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, letter a), sub ii), of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of Re-Anima Srl under its new company name of We Bridge Community Srl. The full text of Executive Decision No. 150 of 15 December 2025 is available on the website www.consob.it.
• The Head of Consob's Intermediary Supervision and Investor Protection Division has confirmed the authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider for the exercise of the service referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, letter a), sub ii), of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of Clubdeal Spa under its new company name of Weltix Spa. The full text of Executive Decision No. 151 of 18 December 2025 is available on the website www.consob.it.

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