European Supervisory Authorities publish sectoral reports the on supervisory independence of competent authorities

The three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – published today their individual reports on the supervisory independence of competent authorities (CAs) in their sectors. Based on the CAs’ self-assessment, the three reports highlight that the independence of CAs is multi-faceted and dependent on a number of legal, institutional, operational and cultural factors.

The three reports take stock of the factual situation on CAs’ independence along key angles, namely, operational, financial and personal independence as well as accountability and transparency. The reports seek to factually represent the arrangements and practices reported by CAs without assessing the independence of individual CAs.

CAs state that they are independent authorities, operating independently on a day-to-day basis, with sufficient financial and personal independence, and an adequate framework for ensuring accountability and transparency.  However, the precise approach and framework reported by CAs frequently varies. For instance:

Since January 2020, the ESAs have the clear task of fostering and monitoring supervisory independence. The three ESAs have, therefore, closely coordinated their work to examine how key aspects of supervisory independence have been incorporated into the governance and activities of CAs.