The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, the agency in charge of supervising and inspecting the Spanish stock markets, has published its plan of action for 2016.

The plan falls into four strategic areas and sets the commission 44 goals. The object of the exercise is to help the CNMV take advantage of the greater supervisory potential that new legislation has granted it. In 2016 it plans, for the first time, to conduct mystery shopping, issue technical guides and, perhaps, to ask experts to collaborate in its work. It will also issue proposals for improvements to the functioning of markets, with the aim of making enterprises easier to finance.

The four strategies

The regulator's first strategy is to develop its new statutory powers. It expects, for the first time, to use monitoring tools that allow it to require independent experts to collaborate and to conduct 'process checks' (mystery shopping). It will also write up some "technical guidelines" to contain criteria or procedures to facilitate compliance with regulations laid down by Law 5/2015 on the promotion of business financing.

Closely related to the first strategy, the CNMV's second line of action will be the promotion of a "convergence supervisor" at European Union level. A permanent group, the European Securities Regulatory Authority's Supervisory Convergence Standing Committee, over which the CNMV presides, has recently been strengthened. Its aim is to co-ordinate the implementation of the rules in the financial sector evenly in all countries, to avoid regulatory arbitration and to detect areas that require greater integration.

For the third line of strategy, the CNMV proposes to improve the operation of the markets it regulates to facilitate the access that high-net-worth investors and others have to the process of funding companies. It will come up with new ideas as time goes on and pass its proposals on to the Government and the Ministry of the Economy. It also wants to improve competitiveness.

The fourth strategy of the CNMV consists of faster interaction with the sector and with investors (HNW and otherwise), the better to help them adapt to the new European regulations efficiently. The aim here is two-fold: to boost the competitiveness of the financial sector and to protect investors from sharp practice.

The 44 objectives

The first block of objectives is dedicated to improving the way the CNMV functions. It looks forward to a modification of the sanctions regime that involves the development of a new software application to carry out investigations into the abuse of privileged information. The second block contains objectives focused specifically on market supervision.

The next block of objectives, more importantly, refers to the supervision of financial intermediaries. It highlights the model of supervision that is to apply to "platforms of participatory financing" and also looks forward to the development of strategies regarding the recovery and 'resolution' of investment service companies. The regulator also plans to resume its issuance of a 'draft circular' that contains warnings about products that it does not consider suitable for retail.

The fourth and last block is for relations with investors and other interested parties. This includes, among others, the organization of a series of seminars on subjects such as the reform of Spain's clearing system, settlement and registration, European legislation and the financing of alternative enterprises.