BANK DIVISION
Anyone wishing today to consult information that European companies are legally required to publish must first know where to look. Each Member State keeps such information in its own national sources, resulting in a fragmented landscape. Regulation (EU) 2023/2859 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 addresses this situation by establishing the European Single Access Point (ESAP), a common platform whose first phase got underway this summer.
The project forms part of the Action Plan for the Capital Markets Union and pursues three objectives: increasing the visibility of companies, opening up new financing opportunities for them and facilitating investment decision-making.
In Spain, the transition from legislation to implementation has been marked by two almost simultaneous milestones. The first was the launch of the first phase on 10 July 2026, when entities subject to the requirements began submitting their information to collection bodies, although the public will have to wait until July 2027 to access the platform. The second came just seventeen days later, with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament of the Draft Law on the Digitalisation and Modernisation of the Financial Sector, which adapts Spanish law to the European ESAP framework and is currently undergoing the parliamentary process. These developments are complemented by the practical guide published by the CNMV in May 2026, which clarifies the operational process ahead of the platform’s opening to the public.
It is important to emphasise that ESAP does not impose new obligations on European companies or require them to submit additional information. Instead, it brings together information that is already publicly available as required by EU legislation and makes it accessible through a centralised, public and digital access point.
As regards its operation, the system works on two levels. Entities submit their information to a national collection body, which validates it and forwards it to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which is responsible for managing the portal. In Spain, responsibility for collecting the information will be distributed among different bodies depending on the subject matter concerned.
The rollout will be gradual and will take place in three successive phases over a five-year period. The first, which began in July 2026, essentially covers information published by listed companies and issuers. The second, from January 2028, will add accounting information, information relating to the sustainability of financial products and investment-fund information, among other categories. The third, from January 2030, will incorporate most of the regulated financial sector, including banking, insurance, financial instrument markets, crypto-assets, green bonds and auditing. The process will conclude in 2031 with information arising from the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. By the end of the rollout, publicly available information concerning the European financial sector should be concentrated in a single access point.
There is also a provision that deserves particular attention, especially for companies outside the listed markets. From 10 January 2030, ESAP will also allow unlisted companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to publish their information voluntarily through the Commercial Registry. For an SME with international ambitions, this platform could, over time, become a genuine showcase for European investors.
In short, ESAP does not change what is published, but rather where and how it is accessed. It is a common infrastructure whose rollout, spread over several years, will transform the way public information concerning the European financial system is accessed. Companies that begin preparing their information with this framework in mind today will be better positioned when, within a few years, this approach simply becomes the standard.
