On 3 July 2017, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a report concerning European Economic Area (“EEA”) prospectus approval activity in 2016.
ESMA’s report presents data across member states and types of offered securities, and additionally includes year-over-year comparisons. The report notes that the number of prospectus approvals across the EEA fell by 8.5% in 2016 as compared to 2015, which continues the overall downward trend since 2009. Almost three-quarters of EEA prospectuses approved in 2016 related to non-equity securities, with the most frequent security type being debt securities with a denomination of at least EUR 100,000. The report further states that both equity and non-equity approvals were highly concentrated in a small number of jurisdictions, i.e., Germany, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.