STOR Survey (2019-2020)

In 2019, the CSSF launched a thematic review of more than 70 Luxembourg banks and investment firms in relation to their systems and procedures to detect and notify orders and transactions in financial instruments that could constitute market abuse. The review covered the period from 2017 to 2018. The statutory obligation for ‘persons professionally arranging or executing transactions’ to establish and maintain systems and procedures to detect and notify suspected market abuse is laid down in Article 16 (2) of the Market Abuse Regulation (2014) (also referred to as “MAR”). The related technical standards are set out in more detail in a Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/957 of 9 March 2016. The surveyed entities included those entities which, in the period covered by the review, reported the highest numbers of transactions in financial instruments to the CSSF under the transaction reporting regime pursuant to Article 26 of MiFIR.

Within the context of the thematic review, the surveyed entities were asked to complete a questionnaire established on the basis of the aforementioned technical standards. After the evaluation of the feedback received, the CSSF communicated the general findings and observations of the thematic review to the surveyed banks and investment firms in June 2020. For a limited number of surveyed entities, the CSSF also reverted with specific observations to clarify certain elements or to highlight potential weaknesses or shortcomings. The entities in question have since reverted to the CSSF, in most cases with an indication of the measures that have been or are being implemented.

The findings and observations, which can be accessed here, have been prepared for publication on the homepage of the CSSF on the basis of the general findings and observations communicated by the CSSF to the surveyed entities in June 2020.