News In Detail - CONSOB AND ITS ACTIVITIES
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Xtbco Ltd (website https://xtbco.com and related pages https://client.xtbco.com and https://webtrader.xtbco.com);
- "FXCrue" (website https://fxcrue.com and related pages https://webtrader.fxcrue.com and https://client.fxcrue.com);
- "Sgbfinancesa.io" (website https://sgbfinancesa.io and related pages https://client.sgbfinancesa.io and https://webtrader.sgbfinancesa.io);
- "Ariel System" (website https://arielsystem.pro);
- "FXG Markets Investment" (website https://fxgmarkets.com and related page https://my.fxgmarkets.com);
- Link Financial Limited (website www.linkfinancialltd.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 983.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Notice
Based on the provisions of the Coordination Agreement entered into on 31 March 2006, the Bank of Italy, IVASS and Consob have updated the list of Italian financial conglomerates i.e. groups of companies under common control whose exclusive or predominant activities consist of providing significant services in at least two different financial sectors (banking, investment services, insurance).
The supervision of financial conglomerates is carried out pursuant to Legislative Decree 142/2005. This provides for supplementary supervisory instruments in addition to those used for sectoral supervision, with a view to systematically monitoring the capital adequacy and riskiness of each conglomerate as a whole, while taking account of the interconnections between the insurance and banking/financial activities of its members.
The list at 31 December 2022 includes one insurance-led financial conglomerate already subject to supplementary supervision last year. IVASS maintains its role as coordinator of the conglomerate.
The list omits financial conglomerates comprising significant supervised institutions, whose identification is assigned to the European Central Bank in the context of the Single Supervisory Mechanism.
The updated list of conglomerates identified at 31 December 2022 is available on the websites of the Bank of Italy, IVASS and Consob.
23 November 2023
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 7 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 6 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- "BTX+" (website https://btxplus.io and related pages https://client.btxplus.io and https://webtrader.btxplus.io);
- "Tide Technologies Group" (website https://tidetechnologiesgroup.ltd);
- Fast-MNG EU Limited (website www.fast-mng.com);
- "Alfacapitalinvest" (website https://alfacapitalinvest.com and related page https://client.alfacapitalinvest.com);
- "Bitcoinup" e "UfinaCapital" (siti https://bitcoinup.io e https://ufinacapital.pro and page https://ufina.trade)
- Digital Trust CSP Fzco (website www.doublefinance.io).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 977.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
The high volatility of crypto currencies is increasingly characterized as a structural fact of this type of asset, whose market value, as of September 2023, was more than 50 percent lower than at the end of 2021. It also remains highly vulnerable to cyber attacks, with about $3.8 billion stolen globally in hacker attacks in 2022, up from $3.3 billion in the previous year.
These are some of the most significant figures from Consob's annual report 'Major Trends in Sustainable Investment and Crypto currency', now in its second edition. The same survey also confirms the trend of Euro zone firms becoming more capable in managing their exposure to Esg risks.
Crypto activities
As of September 2023, the annualized return of Bitcoin (which together with ether accounts for more than 60 percent of the market value of crypto currencies) was only slightly higher than those of other non-digital asset classes, against a far greater risk-taking due to extreme price volatility. The same volatility is also found in inactive crypto currencies, that is, those that have not been transacted in the past year, at values close to 60 percent and 70 percent for Bitcoin and ether, respectively.
There remains, then, the critical issue posed by cyber security: only a clear minority of crypto currency exchange platforms (14 out of 188) can be considered 'very secure'. Compared to 2022, the share of platforms with poor cyber security ratings also increases.
Sustainable investments
The Sustainalytics Esg Risk Score, an index that helps investors identify Esg risks, records a trend toward an increase in the ability of Euro area companies to manage Esg risks, i.e., related to environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects. At the sector level, exposure to Esg risks is on average higher for utilities and energy producers than for manufacturing or services companies.
In Italy, Esg Risk Scores are aligned with values found in Euro zone countries, although financial firms' exposure to Esg risks is higher on average than non-financial companies.
The 2023 Report includes a focus on listed companies in Italy, aimed at examining whether the Esg risk score and the Esg Refinitiv rating (a measure of companies' Esg performance) show a correlation with some of the main characteristics of companies (such as performance, volatility, liquidity, leverage, capitalization, price to book value or price on earnings). The focus shows that the group of companies with the highest sustainability score are those with higher liquidity and capitalization, while there are no significant differences between the two groups in terms of performance, volatility and market valuations.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob, the Bank of Italy, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), the Italian Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS) and the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) have renewed the Memorandum of Understanding for the management of joint tender procedures for the procurement of goods, services and works, in accordance with the provisions of Legislative Decree no. 36 of 31 March 2023.
The agreement was signed pursuant to Article 15 of Law no. 241/1990 for a period of five years and with the possibility of renewal. The Memorandum defines the methods of coordination between the participating entities, aimed at identifying joint public procurement strategies, to meet common procurement needs.
The Memorandum of Understanding is a continuation of the fruitful cooperation already experienced between the Authorities in matters of expenditure and is in line with the regulations of the new Code on Public Contracts.
This legislation focuses, among other things, on the qualification of contracting authorities and on cooperation between administrations, with the aim of implementing increasingly efficient shared procurement strategies, including with a view to the common development of complex and innovative projects.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob, by Resolution No. 22889 of 15 November 2023, amended the Charter of Establishment of the Committee of Market Operators and Investors (COMI), adopted by Resolution No. 20477 of 12 June 2018 and subsequently amended by Resolution No. 22782 of 19 July 2023, and appointed five new members for the two-year period 2023-2025, which are in addition to the 30 new members appointed by Resolution No. 22869 of 2 November 2023.
The list of the 35 new members of COMI is published on the Consob website at the following link: https://www.consob.it/it/web/area-pubblica/componenti-comi.
The Committee, established at Consob in 2018, has the function of facilitating discussion and dialogue with stakeholders. In particular, it expresses the views of market participants and investors and assists Consob in defining the Institute's strategic directions and related action.
The Committee is also given responsibility for analyzing market risks and identifying areas for improving the competitiveness of the capital market.
All 35 new members of the COMI will serve for a two-year term until the expiration date stipulated in Resolution No. 22869 of 2 November 2023 (see "Consob Informa" No. 37/2023). Participation in the Committee is free of charge.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Bitblanco” (website www.bitblanco.com and related page https://webtrader.bitblanco.com);
- “Alphascrypto” (website www.alphascrypto.uk);
- Billionaire Trade Ltd (website https://billionaire-trade.com and related pages https://panel.billionaire-trade.com and https://trading.billionaire-trade.com);
- “Infinity Invest” (website https://infinityinvest.pro and related pages https://office.infinityinvest.pro and https://trade.infinityinvest.pro);
- “CustomhouseCL” (website www.customhousecl.com and pages https://client.customhousecl.com and https://platform.tnxtechno.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 970.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
See also
-
Published: 01/01/1970
The policy on requests for patronage and authorization to use the logo of the National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has been published, together with the request form to be filled out online and sent to the email address segr.dst@consob.it.
The policy enshrines the general principles and requirements necessary for the granting of patronage and indicates the cases of exclusion from the granting of patronage and authorization to use the logo.
Patronage represents a symbolic form of adherence to events and activities not directly organized by Consob, as well as an expression of appreciation for the contribution they make to Consob's institutional objectives.
The initiatives for which patronage and/or authorization to use the logo is requested may be submitted to Consob by public or private entities that, by virtue of their institutional, scientific, economic, social, cultural, notoriety, give a guarantee of reliability, seriousness, fairness and validity of the proposal.
The granting of sponsorship and/or authorization to use the logo are free of charge and are allowed for the duration of individual initiatives, but do not extend by analogy to other similar or related events.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob has permanently blocked the abusive takeover bid on Piaggio's ordinary shares promoted in recent weeks by JSC Handel Gruppe, thus turning the temporary offer suspension order announced last 10 October into a permanent one.
The permanent termination of the tender offer, ordered by Consob pursuant to Article No. 187-octies, paragraph 6(a) of the Tuf, is accompanied by a request to LinkedIN Ireland to make permanent the removal from the web pages through which the abusive tender offer was promoted. These are the pages https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierluigidc/ and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/formal-letter-offer-buy-pierluigi-di-cieri , traceable to Mr. Pierluigi Di Cieri, whose illicit contents, in particular a document in "pdf" format entitled "Letter of Offer to Piaggio & Co. S.p.A.", constitute a means of promoting the abusive activity.
The measure adopted by Consob (Resolution no. 22871 of 8 November 2023 can be found on Consob's website.
-
Esma, cyber risks become a strategic supervisory priority (9 November 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
Cyber risks become one of Esma's strategic supervisory priorities. In fact, the European Securities and Markets and Authority has decided to re-examine the Union's Strategic Supervisory Priorities (Ussp) by which Esma coordinates and steers together with national authorities supervisory action at the European level, including cyber risks and digital resilience alongside Esg (environmental, social and governance) disclosure. (https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-put-cyber-risk-new-union-strategic-supervisory-priority)
ESAs will place greater emphasis on the need to strengthen risk management related to information and communication technologies, and the contagion potential of cyber attacks, through closer monitoring and supervisory action, with a view to keeping pace with technological and market developments.
The new Ussp Priorities will come into effect in 2025, along with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (Dora), giving sufficient time for authorities and companies to prepare for the new requirements while Esma and relevant national supervisors carry out preparatory work.
The new Priorities will replace the previous Ussp on market data quality, following intensive concerted action between Esma and the National Competent Authorities that have developed supervisory tools, common data quality methodologies and data sharing mechanisms.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Nexus LLC (website https://powercapital.live and related pages https://my.powercapital.live and https://my.tradings.life);
- “Free Trade CFD” (website https://freetrade-cfd.com and related page https://client.freetrade-cfd.com);
- “Smart Flow Ltd” (website https://smartflow.work and related pages https://office.smartflow.work and https://trade.smartflow.work);
- “Avan Trade” (website https://ai-trade.consulting and related page https://cfd.ai-trade.consulting; website https://ai-trade.holdings and related page https://cfd.ai-trade.holdings);
- “Bullbit” (website https://bullbit.net and related page https://trade.bullbit.net).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 965.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 ("MiCAR") was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 June 2023, and will be applicable as of 30 December 2024, except for the provisions in Titles III and IV regarding asset-linked tokens ("ART") and electronic money tokens ("EMT"), which will be applicable as of 30 June 2024.
Consob and the Bank of Italy, in collaboration with the organization of financial business agents and credit brokers - “OAM” (Organismo degli agenti in attività finanziaria e dei mediatori creditizi"), intend to conduct a fact-finding survey to understand the potential level of interest in carrying out activities in Italy that fall within the scope of application of MiCAR and to support the preparatory activity for the application of the aforementioned regulation.
This survey is addressed to:
-
banks, electronic money institutions, payment institutions, financial intermediaries under Art. No. 106 of the Consolidated Banking Law (TUB), securities firms (SIMs), managers of UCITS and FIAs, central securities depositories and managers of regulated markets;
-
entities registered in the “Register of providers of services related to the use of virtual currency and digital wallet services” maintained by the OAM, currently performing services and activities that will be regulated by MiCAR;
-
entities other than those previously mentioned, who are willing to carry out services or activities regulated by MiCAR.
The survey is conducted through modalities agreed upon by the aforementioned Authorities and the OAM.
For the subjects referred to in point 1[1], please refer to the communications from the Bank of Italy[2]; for the subjects referred to in point 2, the collection of responses will be carried out by the OAM.
For the subjects referred to in point 3 of the list, you are asked to complete the following questionnaire and send the response by sending the completed questionnaire to the email address micar@consob.it by 24 November 2023.
8 November 2023
[1] The central securities depositories and the managers of regulated markets will transmit the responses according to specific methods that will be communicated by the Authorities.
[2] https://www.bancaditalia.it/media/notizia/investigation-cognitiva-sull-interest-a-svoltore-in-italia-attivit-rientranti-nell-ambiente-applicativo-di-micar/.
-
-
Fintech Sandbox, the second testing phase has begun (6 November 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
The second stage of experimentation of techno-finance (FinTech) activities in Italy took place from 3 November to 5 December 2023, during which operators in the sector were able to apply for admission to the regulatory sandbox, a protected space for testing projects in the banking, financial and insurance sectors.
Participation in the sandbox - provided for by the Decree of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance no. 100 of 30 April 2021 - allows supervised intermediaries and operators in the FinTech sector to test innovative products and services, being able to benefit from a simplified transitional regulatory regime.
FinTech projects can be admitted, without limitations in terms of number; interested operators are invited to start informal discussions with the Supervisory Authorities as soon as possible.
Contact details and further information can be found on the dedicated pages available on the websites of the aforementioned institutions, as well as on the website of the Department of the Treasury – headed by the Technical Secretariat of the FinTech Committee - where it is also possible to consult the Official Register of FinTech operators already admitted to the sandbox during the first testing phase.
Information on the Regulations, the methods and requirements for participation, and how to apply are available in the section of the Consob website dedicated to the sandbox: https://www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/sandbox.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), published its Public Statement on Common European Supervisory Priorities on 25 October. These priorities cover financial and sustainability reporting, as well as considerations on alternative performance indicators and digital reporting, and cover for 2023: climate and other environmental issues as well as the macroeconomic environment.
ESMA has, in addition, published a Report on climate disclosure presented in the 2022 financial statements and a study on the information provided under Article No. 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation in order to improve the disclosure to be provided to the market.
The stated priorities will be considered by Consob as part of its monitoring and supervision of listed companies' financial reports and non-financial statements for fiscal year 2023.
Priorities related to financial statements prepared in accordance with IAS/IFRS.
Enforcement priorities for 2023 related to financial statements prepared in accordance with international accounting standards are:
-
climate-related aspects in the preparation and review of IFRS financial statements, with particular reference to consistency between financial statements and non-financial statements, accounting for emission allowances (ETS) and certificates related to renewable energy, the impairment testing process and related disclosures as well as disclosure on renewable electricity supply contracts. Specific considerations are devoted to financial intermediaries in relation to disclosures on green financial instruments and the accounting for loan loss provisions;
-
the impact of the current macroeconomic environment on refinancing and other financial risks as well as on the fair value determination process and related disclosure.
Priorities related to non-financial reporting
Priorities regarding non-financial information refer to:
-
disclosure required in relation to Article No. 8 of the Taxonomy Regulations. The need to use the templates set forth in the Delegated Act on Article No. 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation is recalled, without any adaptation or modification, providing adequate accompanying qualitative disclosures in order to arrive at a clear picture of the assessments made by the issuer, the assumptions made and the methodological choices made in preparing the disclosure. Finally, a specific focus was reserved for the CapEx indicator and its inclusion in any transition plans prepared by issuers;
-
information on objectives, actions and progress on climate issues. Links with the issuer's strategic plan and any public policy objectives assume prominence. In addition, the importance of disclosure on the methodologies and assumptions underlying the setting of objectives as well as monitoring and progress in achieving them is emphasized. Specific attention is finally paid to decarbonisation targets;
-
Scope 3 emissions. The Supervisory Priorities call on issuers to provide reasons for the possible immateriality of such emissions, while if they are deemed material, the importance of providing transparency on how they are calculated and determined is emphasized. This type of emission (e.g., emissions upstream and downstream in the value chain) is in fact calculated on sources not controlled by the company preparing the DNF.
Considerations Regarding APMs and ESEF.
Regarding Alternative Performance Measures (APMs), the Statement highlights the circumstance that issuers are required to comply with the Esma Guidelines on APMs and related Q&A, particularly when the same indicators are presented in contexts other than financial statements.
Finally, in the Public Statement, in continuity with previous years, there is a call for attention to the proper application of the European Single Electronic Format (Esef) for reporting, both in relation to the marking of numerical elements in the consolidated financial statements and in relation to the block marking of the related notes.
Report on climate-related matters in financial statements
THE HEAT IS ON: DISCLOSURES OF CLIMATE-RELATED MATTERS IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSThe report aims to support issuers in more robustly and consistently representing climate-related matters in financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.
The disclosure examples included in the report, taken from the 2022 financial statements of European issuers, provide practical illustrations of how climate-related matters can be presented in IFRS financial statements. In doing so, ESMA highlights key aspects in each example and provides guidance explaining why such disclosures may be useful to investors.
Finally, each section of the paper includes some comments from ESMA on areas to continue to focus on.
Study on information provided under Article No. 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation
RESULTS OF A FACT-FINDING EXERCISE ON CORPORATE REPORTING PRACTICES UNDER THE TAXONOMY REGULATIONThe paper summarizes the results of a fact-finding exercise carried out under the coordination of ESMA with regard to the DNF 2022 of a sample of 54 listed European non-financial companies, with the aim of assessing the quality of the disclosure provided in response to the new requirements under Article No. 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation, pertaining to, among other things, the completeness of the templates under the Delegated Act, the adequate reporting of the various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) provided for non-financial companies (turnover, OpEx and CapEx) and qualitative information. In light of the survey results, ESMA draws the attention of issuers to the importance of providing all the quantitative and qualitative information required by the regulations so that the users of the non-financial statement, including financial institutions, can fully understand the degree of eligibility and alignment of economic activities.
-
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 4 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 3 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Mango Group LLC (website www.x-fortunes.com);
- "FX6" (website https://fx6.xyz);
- "Trade 4 Nation" (website www.trade4nation.com and related page https://client.trade4nation.com);
- "Velohld" (website www.velohld.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 959.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 5 abusive websites (Press Release of 19 October 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- "Axiancefx - (website https://axiancefx.co);
- "Investment Analysts" - (website https://investment-analysts.com and related page https://client.investment-analysts.com);
- Switchtrades Ltd - (website www.switchtrades.com and page https://clientzonearea.accountifft.ppdashboard.webtraderclientzone.com);
- Top Markets Ltd - (website www.europetrade.me and related page https://wt.europetrade.me);
- BTC System Pty Ltd (website https://btcsystem.net).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 955.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Adoption of Consob provisions on securitizations (18 October 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
Following the public consultation with the market concluded on 16 May 2023, the Commission adopted the Provisions implementing Article No. 4-septies.2, of the Consolidated Law on Finance (Tuf) in order to: (i) regulate, within the margins allowed by the directly applicable European legislation, the notification of securitization transactions to Consob and the organizational requirements applicable to the entities involved in the securitization transaction, (ii) specify the procedures for the transmission of the request for authorization, in accordance with Article No. 28, of the Securitization Regulation, of the third parties that assess the compliance of securitizations with the STS criteria (Resolution No. 22833 of 9 October 2023, being published in the Official Gazette) .
Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (hereafter, the "Securitization Regulation") introduced a uniform EU-wide framework for securitizations and a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardized securitizations (the STS securitizations), applicable as of 1 January 2019. The aforementioned Regulation was subsequently amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/557, which dictated specific rules for impaired asset securitizations and so-called synthetic or on-balance sheet securitizations.
Legislative Decree No. 131 of 3 August 2022, made amendments to Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998 ("Tuf") to bring the national system in line with the provisions of the Securitization Regulation. Specifically, Article No. 4-septies.2, of the Tuf assigns nationwide supervisory powers arising from the Securitization Regulation to Consob, the Bank of Italy, Ivass and Covip.
Consob is competent to supervise:
- on compliance with Article No. 3 for the sale of securitizations to retail customers;
- on compliance with Articles Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9, when neither the originator, nor the original lender, nor the special purpose vehicle, are supervised entities (i.e. banks, investment firms, asset managers, financial intermediaries registered in the register provided for in Article No. 106 of Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, insurance or reinsurance companies, and occupational pension institutions) and there is no promoter;
- on compliance by originators, promoters and special purpose vehicles with Articles Nos. 18 to 27 of the Securitization Regulations for STS securitizations;
- on the third-party verifier referred to in Article No. 27(2) of the Securitization Regulations and to grant and revoke the authorization referred to in Article No. 28.
Pursuant to Article No. 4-septies.2, paragraph 9, of the Tuf, Consob holds the power to dictate implementing provisions of the aforementioned article within the scope of its competencies. The implementing provisions adopted confirm the framework outlined to the market during public consultation. In response to the requests of the respondents to the consultation, certain changes have been made to the data template submitted for consultation that can be used to fulfill the notification burdens established by the implementing provisions, in order to reduce, where possible, the burdens on operators. Specifically, two separate data templates have been prepared for the notification of information under Articles Nos. 6 through 9 and for the notification of data applicable only to STS securitizations. For this second case, operators may not to include in the data template the information that they have already submitted through different templates to other supervisory authorities (Esma, ECB and Bank of Italy), requiring, instead, to attach said templates.
The two data templates and the technical procedures for their compilation and submission are published on Consob's website [Template A - Corporate Securitizations - Template B - STS Securitizations].
The reporting requirements to Consob set forth in the adopted provisions (Section II, paragraph 1 and Section III, paragraph 1) apply to securitizations issued after the effective date of the provisions and to those issued after 1 January 2019 that are still outstanding on the effective date of the provisions. The requirements in Section II, paragraph 2 regarding event-driven disclosure and those in Section III, paragraph 2 apply to securitizations issued after 1 January 2019.
Section IV defines the timing and manner of compliance with the disclosure requirements; this includes specific provisions for transactions issued within three months of the effective date of the provisions, as well as for transactions issued after 1 January 2019 and still outstanding on the effective date of the provisions.
The resolution adopting the provisions together with the Explanatory Report on the results of the consultation are published on Consob's website at the following address: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/consultazioni?viewId=consultazioni_concluse.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
The seventh annual celebration of World Investor Week (WIW) started on 2 October 2023 and concluded on 8 October, although some jurisdictions will continue to conduct WIW-related events in October and November.
More than 100 jurisdictions have participated in the WIW campaign, in addition to several global and international organizations that have also joined the campaign for the first time. Stock exchanges, market intermediaries, industry associations and other relevant stakeholders in the ecosystem have joined the securities regulators around the world to support a range of investor education initiatives aimed at enhancing investor protection. The G20, under the India Presidency, has also supported the WIW campaign.
This high level of participation in the WIW from all around the world is a clear indication of the priority that regulators and market participants are giving to financial education, taking into account their local circumstances as well as the common challenges that retail investors are facing across jurisdictions.
Pasquale Munafò, Chair of the IOSCO Committee 8 on Retail Investors, said: "Financial innovation is opening new business opportunities for the industry and potential benefits for investors. In this context, regulators, the industry and the ecosystem should cooperate to continue increasing financial consumer protection at different levels, including through financial education. Among others, the WIW campaign has delivered key messages on Crypto Assets and Sustainable Finance, two areas in which IOSCO will continue to work and deliver its guidance."
Eduardo Manhães Ribeiro Gomes, C8 WIW Working Group Coordinator, said "Regulators around the world are conducting different financial and investor education initiatives, ranging from basic messages and tools to more comprehensive programs. The WIW provides an opportunity to share experiences and ways to continue engaging with industry and other stakeholders' efforts to promote sound and practical knowledge, behaviours, attitudes that are aligned with investor protection considerations."
IOSCO will continue disseminating key messages on investor education and investor protection and fostering learning opportunities for investors, while continue supporting collaboration with different stakeholders under the umbrella of the WIW campaign.
Additional information on the WIW activities and events is available at the WIW website (https://www.worldinvestorweek.org) as well as following the WIW on Facebook (@worldinvestorweek), Twitter (@ioscowiw) and Instagram (@ioscowiw).
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
The weight of ESG factors - environmental, social and governance - in determining the remuneration of top management of listed companies in Italy is increasing: in 2022 these factors contributed to determining the payments of CEOs in 127 companies with ordinary shares traded on the Euronext Milan market, accounting for 58.5 percent of the total and up from 106 (47 percent of the total) in the previous year. An examination of the abstracts of the Strategic Plans published by 68 companies on their websites also shows a more widespread propensity to integrate ESG factors into the corporate vision, with full integration between corporate strategy and ESG objectives for 13 companies (8 in the previous year).
This is the finding of the Consob 2022 Report on Non-financial Reporting, which captures signs of the cultural transformation triggered by legislative obligations toward greater consideration of ESG factors in the definition of business models, decision-making and corporate governance models in Italy.
Based on the Non-financial Statements (NFDs) published in 2022 by 148 listed companies, the Report sees the involvement of external stakeholders in defining the most relevant issues for non-financial reporting increasing by about four percentage points, to 65.8 percent in 2022.
The 2022 Report also includes an Addendum with the results of the first year of implementation of the EU Regulation 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation), which provides for the publication of Key Performance Indicators (Kpi) related to the compatibility of business activities with the European taxonomy, in particular to their inclusion in the list of eligible economic activities contained in the taxonomy's delegated acts. The Addendum shows that the average value of the share of turnover associated with eligible activities, among the 22 non-financial companies belonging to the Ftse Mib, is 22.8 percent.