26/10/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 26 October, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a statement clarifying application of the EU’s Share Trading Obligation (STO) on 31 December 2020, following the end of the transition period in the UK’s withdrawal agreement from the EU. In its statement, which is an update of a previous statement from May 2019, ESMA explained that the STO will not apply to the trading of shares with a European Economic Area (EEA) ISIN on a UK trading venue in UK pounds sterling by EU investment firms. “This revised guidance aims at addressing the specific situation of the small number of EU issuers whose shares are mainly traded on UK trading venues in sterling”, said ESMA. The statement can be found at: https://bit.ly/3dYJXy0 (MF)