ESMA analysis shows continued growth in cross-border investment services

The summary above is from the announcement ESMA published on October 27, 2026.

What the announcement says

The exercise collected data from investment firms across 30 jurisdictions in the EU/EEA and found that cross-border investment activity continued to grow significantly in 2025.

A total of 379 financial firms provided cross-border services to retail clients.

Approximately 15.5 million clients in the EU/EEA received investment services from firms located in other Member States, almost twice as many as in 2023.

The number of retail clients rose by 47%.

Complaints remained stable (decreased by -0.2%).

Cyprus remained the primary location for firms providing cross-border investment services in the EU/EEA, accounting for 20% of passporting firms, followed by Luxembourg (14%) and Germany (12%).

France, Spain, Germany and Italy are the main destinations for retail clients receiving cross-border services in other Member States.

These findings will support ESMA and the NCAs in monitoring cross-border investment services and understanding developments affecting retail investors across the EU/EEA.

ESMA will carry out the next data collection in 2027.

Report on the 2025 cross-border provision of investment services to retail clients in the EU and EEA

ESMA

Supervisory announcements can change which entity is allowed to serve clients in a region, what investor protection applies to them, and which firms are under scrutiny.

Read the full announcement on ESMA

Compiled automatically from the source listed below. Follow the link for the full announcement.