Spanish market: CNMV presents the Annual Report to the Economy, Industry and Competitiveness Comission of the Spanish Parliament

CNMV’s Chairman, Sebastián Albella, has presented recently the supervisory body’s 2017 Annual Report to the Economy, Industry and Competitiveness Commission of the Spanish Parliament. These are some of the main conclusions:

– In the context of what was a good year for the markets, in 2017 activity grew significantly in terms of corporate operations such as IPOs and takeovers.

– Likewise, the number of entities supervised by CNMV increased in all categories (investment firms, collective investment scheme and venture capital management companies and crowdfunding platforms). There was also a significant increase in the number and volume invested in investment funds.

– CNMV approved several Technical Guides during the year, including most notably those relating to audit committees and the training of sales network staff.

– The year was also marked by the preparation of the implementation of MiFID II and by the initiatives, including the strengthening of the institution, aimed at making Spanish financial markets more attractive, especially in the context of events such as “Brexit”.

Three parts

This report consists of three parts:

– The first, in which the main features of the economic and financial environment and the evolution of the markets in 2017 are set out.

– The second, which outlines CNMV’s activity in the different areas in which it operates: supervision of markets and financial intermediaries, investor relations and relations with other market participants, as well as international activity and, finally,

– The third, which describes some aspects of CNMV’s internal organisation and strategy.

According to the Report, 2017 can be described, in general, as positive from a macroeconomic and financial stability point of view, both in Spain and at international level. Other noteworthy aspects include the consolidation of growth on a global scale and the beginning of the process to standardise the ultra-expansive monetary policy applied for years on both sides of the Atlantic.

In terms of financial markets, the main market indices registered important progress, the foundations of which were the strength of the global economy and a climate of low interest rates, which remained stable in the long-term debt markets. 2017 was a year characterised by low volatility in which financial markets, including the Spanish ones, exhibited moderate stress levels throughout the year. The stress indicator created and calculated by CNMV recorded very low indices over the whole year, even during the political crisis in Catalonia.

As regards the Spanish markets, the funds generated by listed companies through capital increases with pre-emption rights, under

the public offer for subscription regime without entitlement or accelerated placements, increased by 31.2% with respect to the previous year, to stand at 9.6 billion euros. The total value of the capital increases, considering all types of fundraising, amounted to 26.8 billion euros, 86% more than in 2016.

Seven new companies were incorporated into the Spanish continuous market (Mercado Continuo); in five cases through IPOs in the strict sense of the term and in two cases moving from the Alternative Stock Market (Mercado Alternativo Bursátil, MAB) to the primary market. On the other hand, five companies were delisted.

In addition, during 2017, five takeover bids for a total amount ten times that registered in 2016 were approved, the highest in recent years, including most notably the takeover bid for Abertis Infraestructuras.

Regarding trading on secondary markets, the trend towards greater distribution in the purchasing of equity was maintained to the detriment of traditional stock markets, although its intensity decreased with respect to previous years. Considering the main European financial markets as a whole, around 40% of the purchase of multilaterally traded equity takes place outside the regulated market of origin of the securities.

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