Briefing

ESMA says EU access to third-country depositories should continue past January 2027

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On 7 October 2026 the European Securities and Markets Authority published a statement on access to third-country central securities depositories. The current transitional regime is set to end on 17 January 2027. ESMA says market participants should not be prevented from access while the law that would extend the regime is still under negotiation.

Two record books with a bridge between them, for cross-border depository access
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Key facts

  • The ESMA statement is dated 7 October 2026.
  • The transitional regime is scheduled to end on 17 January 2027.
  • ESMA says access should continue until extending legislation is final. That legislation is still under negotiation.

ESMA describes the transitional regime as the arrangement that lets certain third-country CSDs provide notary and central maintenance services for financial instruments constituted under the law of an EU member state. That regime is scheduled to end on 17 January 2027. The Market Integration and Supervision Package, which ESMA says is still under negotiation, proposes an extension. ESMA says it understands that both the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament support an extension. That sentence is ESMA’s understanding. It is not a vote, and it is not a published statute.

The statement says issuers and other market participants had raised the operational uncertainty of losing access before a political agreement. ESMA says the statement is meant to support orderly functioning of EU capital markets ahead of the January date. It tells readers that EU participants should not be prevented from accessing the relevant third-country CSD services beyond 17 January 2027 and until the EU finalises the extending legislation.

A supervisory statement can guide authorities and firms. It does not itself amend the end date in the legislation. Until the extending law is final, the 17 January 2027 date remains the scheduled end that ESMA describes, and the statement is the authority’s position on access during the gap. This page does not list the third-country depositories inside the regime. The release does not name them.

Why it matters for investors and traders

Issuers, custodians and settlement users that rely on a third-country depository for EU-law securities have a stated supervisory position on access after the scheduled end date. The position is not a substitute for the law that would extend the regime.

Markets discussed: Securities. These are the subjects of the briefing, not a list of markets that moved.

Uncertainties

  • The release does not name the third-country CSDs or the instruments covered.
  • ESMA’s understanding of Council and Parliament support is not recorded here as a completed vote.
  • The statement does not say what a national authority must do on 17 January 2027 if the law is still open.

What to watch next

  • Watch for the legislative text. The statement is not that text.
  • Keep 17 January 2027 as the scheduled end of the current regime.
  • Ask the custodian which depository holds the security. This release does not answer that firm by firm.

How to read this development

Supervisory statementEuropean UnionEuropean Securities and Markets Authority

The document is dated 7 October 2026. This briefing was published on 22 October 2026. The two dates are not the same event.

Who is affected

EU issuers and other market participants that use relevant third-country CSD notary and central maintenance services. No depository is named.

What changes

ESMA says access should not be cut off on 17 January 2027 while the proposed extension is still being negotiated. The end date in the current regime is not rewritten by this statement.

When it applies

The statement is dated 7 October 2026. The scheduled end it describes is 17 January 2027. The extension remains a proposal under negotiation.

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ESMA statement on third-country securities depositories | WiT Markets