The AMF encourages French participants to provide feedback to ESMA’s call for evidence on the implementation of the Shareholders Rights Directive (SRD 2)
Executive Summary
The AMF publication urges French market participants to submit feedback to ESMA's call for evidence evaluating the implementation of the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II), which aims to enhance long-term shareholder engagement, transparency in voting processes, and issuer-shareholder dialogue across the EU/EEA. This matters for compliance teams as it signals ongoing regulatory scrutiny of SRD II transposition and operational compliance, potentially leading to harmonized amendments that could require process updates in shareholder identification, voting transmission, and engagement disclosures. French firms' input can influence future EU rules, mitigating risks of non-compliance with evolving standards. #
What Changed
This AMF notice itself introduces no new regulatory changes; it promotes participation in ESMA's review of SRD II (Directive (EU) 2017/828), implemented via national laws by June 2019 and effective from September 3, 2020. SRD II's core requirements include: shareholder identification without delay, electronic/machine-readable transmission of voting and meeting information along the intermediary chain, confirmation of vote recording/counting, transparency on institutional investor and asset manager engagement policies/strategies, and extended scope to EEA-listed shares. ESMA's call for evidence (referenced in the AMF notice) assesses transposition effectiveness, operational challenges (e.g., Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1212 on processes), and potential harmonization needs like "golden
What You Need To Do
- Submit feedback to ESMA
- Review current compliance
- Enhance processes if needed
- Monitor ESMA/EC outputs
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - SRD II has been live since 2020, so core compliance is established, but ESMA's review could trigger targeted amendments (e.g., operational standardization), especially for French intermediaries handling cross-border flows. This matters for avoiding supervisory findings in ongoing AMF/ESMA exams, as non-participation in feedback risks unaddressed pain points becoming enforceable r
Who is Affected
Summary
Governance Europe & international The AMF encourages French participants to provide feedback to ESMA’s call for evidence on the implementation of the Shareholders Rights Directive (SRD 2)