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T: +44 20 3695 9251
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Get in Touch
T: +44 20 3695 9251
E: info@grtconsult.com
71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
On 27 February 2026 ESMA published the annual transparency calculations for equity and equity-like instruments and recalled that “the application of the remaining revised rules on transparency of equity and equity-like financial instruments included in RTS 1 are applicable from 2 March 2026.” That go-live hits EU trading venues, systematic internalisers and investment firms — including London groups’ EU entities — in shares, depositary receipts, ETFs, certificates and similar. The calculations themselves apply from 6 April 2026 until 4 April 2027; the next annual set is to be published by 1 March 2027 and becomes applicable from 5 April 2027.
Two clocks sit on the same ESMA page. Do not merge them.
2 March 2026 is the application date for the remaining revised RTS 1 rules on transparency of equity and equity-like financial instruments. If your EU book quotes, trades or SI-prints shares, DRs, ETFs, certificates or similar, the revised RTS 1 remainder must already be in the venue/SI rulebook, the pre- and post-trade flags, and the tick-size and large-in-scale logic those rules drive.
6 April 2026 – 4 April 2027 is the application window for the annual equity transparency calculations published on 27 February 2026. Those calculations cover the liquidity assessment (Articles 1 to 5 of CDR 2017/567), most relevant market in terms of liquidity (Article 4 of CDR 2017/587 / RTS 1), average daily turnover for pre- and post-trade large-in-scale thresholds, average value of transactions and the related standard market size, and average daily number of transactions on the most relevant market for the tick-size regime.
Bond, structured-finance-product and emission-allowance transparency under the RTS 2 review is a different workstream. This post’s locked date is the RTS 1 remainder on 2 March 2026 plus the 6 April 2026 equity calculations. Do not collapse bond/RTS 2 application language into 2 March.
T+1 is related later market-structure context only. ESMA’s 20 July 2026 statement records first deadline 7 December 2026 (allocations and confirmations) and final 11 October 2027. As of that 20 July statement, Commission amendments to CDR (EU) 2018/1229 “currently are under scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council.” Do not treat 7 December 2026 as already in force.
| Business type | What is in scope | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| EU trading venues of London groups | Remaining revised RTS 1 equity/equity-like transparency from 2 March 2026; annual calculations from 6 April 2026 | Confirm rulebook, publication and tick-size tables applied the RTS 1 remainder on 2 March. Load FITRS for 6 April. |
| Systematic internalisers in shares, DRs, ETFs, certificates and similar | Same RTS 1 remainder and SMS / LIS / liquidity outcomes from the annual calculations | Check SI quote obligations, SMS and LIS against the 27 February calculations before 6 April. |
| EU investment firms dealing on own account or for clients | Pre- and post-trade transparency on equity and equity-like instruments where RTS 1 applies | Confirm OMS/EMS flags to APA/venue. Reconcile new ISINs to FITRS daily. |
| London-book / UK-only desks | Not this 2 March EU RTS 1 remainder unless the trade is through an EU venue, SI or EU firm | Split the blotter: EU-scope vs UK-scope. |
| Bond / SFP / emission-allowance desks | Not locked to 2 March 2026 on the ESMA page used here | Keep RTS 2 on its own tracker. Do not diary 2 March as a bond go-live from this file. |
| Settlement / middle office (T+1, related later) | Allocations/confirmations 7 December 2026; T+1 11 October 2027 — still in preparation as of 20 July 2026 | Separate workstream. Commission act still under EP/Council scrutiny as of 20 July 2026. |
Operational tip: ESMA invites market participants to monitor FITRS daily for newly traded instruments and for the four-week calculations that apply after the first six weeks of trading. A 27 February annual file is not a set-and-forget extract.
| Step | Action | What operational staff must deliver | Official reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prove 2 March 2026 RTS 1 remainder is live | Sign-off that venue/SI/firm systems applied the remaining revised equity/equity-like RTS 1 rules on 2 March | ESMA 27/02/2026: remaining revised RTS 1 rules “applicable from 2 March 2026” |
| 2 | Load the 27 February calculations | FITRS XML (publication date from 27 February 2026) plus Register extract: liquidity, MRM, ADT, AVT/SMS, ADNT | Same ESMA page; FITRS / Register |
| 3 | Cut over thresholds on 6 April 2026 | LIS, SMS, tick-size and liquidity-status tables using the new calculations from 6 April 2026 to 4 April 2027 | ESMA: calculations apply 6 April 2026–4 April 2027 |
| 4 | Switch on daily new-instrument monitoring | Owner and job that pulls FITRS daily; four-week process after six weeks of trading | ESMA: monitor “on a daily basis” |
| 5 | Split equity RTS 1 from bond/RTS 2 | Written scope note: this go-live is equity and equity-like RTS 1 remainder only | ESMA locked sentence is RTS 1 equity/equity-like |
| 6 | Keep T+1 on a later tracker | Separate plan for allocations/confirmations (guidelines “should apply from 7 December 2026”) and T+1 (11 October 2027) | ESMA T+1 news 20/07/2026; statement PDF; 26/05/2026 allocations CP |
| 7 | Diary the next equity calculation cycle | Next annual calculations “published by 1 March 2027 … applicable from 5 April 2027” | ESMA 27/02/2026 next-steps paragraph |
GRT Consulting supports operational teams with RTS 1 remainder go-live evidence against 2 March 2026, FITRS load and 6 April cut-over, and a clean split between equity RTS 1, any later RTS 2 work, and T+1 preparation.
For T+1 preparation only, use the free CSDR T+1 Readiness Diagnostic. For a trading-book review: T: +44 20 3695 9251 E: info@grtconsult.com Web: grtconsult.com
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