European markets traded €27 trillion in equities and over €100 trillion in bonds last year, according to the first-ever comprehensive market review from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
The region’s securities regulator published its first market report using new data sources that have become available thanks to regulatory reforms (known as MiFID II) that introduce new reporting requirements.
The regulator’s report found that equity trading volumes totalled €27 trillion in 28,000 securities in 2019.
Of these traded instruments, approximately 20% are ETFs, but ETFs only account for about 10% of trading volume.
The report also noted that dark trading accounts for about 8% of volume.
On the fixed-income side, bond trading reached €101 trillion in volume across 170,000 bonds.
About half of that is traded over the counter, with another 26% through systematic internalizers, the report said.
Overall, the trading data covered more than 430 trading venues, including 135 regulated markets, 223 multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) and 72 organised trading facilities.
There were also 216 systematic internalisers, which represented an increase of 47 over the course of the year.
“The entry into force of MiFID II in 2018, and its new reporting requirements, expanded ESMA’s monitoring capability of EU financial markets which in turn has provided a data-driven basis to our policy making and risk-based supervisory approach,” said Steven Maijoor, chair of ESMA.
“Today’s statistical report enhances the transparency of European financial markets and supports our efforts to protect investors while ensuring orderly and stable markets,” Maijoor said.
ESMA plans to hold a public webinar on Nov. 25 to present the report.