Welcome to the monthly capital markets update, a briefing from our capital markets practice area rounding up the month’s regulatory developments within the equity and debt capital markets and looking ahead to future developments.
Malta Update
UPDATE NUMBER 12/2025/01
While this amendment was included in the October 2025 monthly update, further observations have since been issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) in a recent circular.
The Circular outlines upcoming changes to the management of insider lists under the Market Abuse Regulation (“MAR”), driven by amendments introduced by the Listing Act. The Listing Act seeks to simplify listing requirements and reduce administrative burdens for EU issuers, particularly SMEs, and requires European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) to revise the implementing technical standards on insider lists with the aim of extending the previously alleviated insider list format to all issuers.
Following a consultation launched in April 2025, ESMA published its Final Report in October 2025 confirming broad market support for the proposed approach and largely maintaining the draft structure of the technical standards. Key clarifications include:
- requiring disclosure of company details for third-party service providers in insider lists;
- specifying that issuers should name one natural person as a contact for external service providers with access to inside information; an
- maintaining the requirement to report insiders’ national identification numbers where applicable.
ESMA also confirmed the continued use of a permanent section in insider lists.
European Union Update
UPDATE NUMBER 12/2025/02
ESMA has welcomed the European Commission’s legislative proposal on market integration and supervision published on 4 December 2025, describing it as a major step toward deeper, more efficient EU capital markets and a core pillar of the Savings and Investments Union strategy.
The proposal aims to reduce market fragmentation caused by divergent national rules and supervisory practices, improve efficiency across trading, post-trading and asset management, and enhance competitiveness by streamlining regulatory requirements, lowering administrative burdens and supporting innovation. Greater supervisory harmonisation would allow market participants to operate more seamlessly across the Single Market, delivering better outcomes for investors and businesses.
A key element of the package is a shift in supervision to the EU level, with ESMA proposed to assume direct oversight of certain significant cross-border market infrastructures and crypto-asset service providers. ESMA has indicated it is ready to take on these responsibilities, building on its extensive supervisory experience, while working closely with national competent authorities to develop the necessary capacity and expertise. For markets that remain under national supervision, ESMA would have an enhanced role in promoting supervisory convergence, particularly for large cross-border asset management groups, reinforcing consistent standards and outcomes across the EU.
