Opinion of the ECB on a proposal for a directive on securities prospectuses

The ECB welcomes the aim of strengthening investor protection, by making information in prospectuses simpler and easier to read. In particular for less standardised securities, such as assetbackedsecurities, and for other types of securities backed by collateral, in particular covered bonds, a well-defined summary including key information on the securities as well as on the parties involved, and a comprehensive liability regime concerning the information in the summary, would be useful to investors and regulators. According to the institution : "a clear legal framework should be put in place in order to facilitate the smooth and rapid conduct of central banks' lending or other liquidity facilities, including in crisis situations, as highlighted by the recent financial crisis. In this regard, information on central banks' lending or other liquidity facilities provided to a particular credit institution, including emergency liquidity assistance, needs to be kept confidential in order to contribute to the stability of the financial system as a whole and maintain public confidence in a period of crisis." Therefore an exception to the disclosure obligations should be made explicit in all relevant EU legislation. Read moreRead the full document