ESMA has carried out a peer review of national regulators and found there is scope for more proactive supervisory approaches to be adopted and enforcement activities strengthened. The peer review does not specifically name which regulators were found to have deficiencies in these areas but the general findings were that only limited supervision was being performed to verify whether clients are receiving investment advice in practice or have the perception that they are receiving advice. Most regulators did not carry out supervisory activities targeted at the particular behaviour of a firm or group of firms as part of a specific suitability project and there were only a few regulators who provided specific information on the tools they use to supervise compliance with the suitability requirements. ESMA criticised the fact that enforcement action is rarely taken in this area and also stated that in many cases regulators could improve how they publicly communicate with stakeholders on their supervision and enforcement activities and findings.
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