# ESMA Adds Five Examples for Delaying Inside-Information Disclosure

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/33414
Published: 2026-10-16T18:31:36.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-16T18:31:36.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The non-exhaustive list covers confidential requests, commercial risks and other situations. The revision also removes examples tied to protracted processes.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union’s financial markets regulator, finalized guidance Oct. 16 that adds five examples of when issuers may delay disclosing inside information under the bloc’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).

EU rules generally require issuers to disclose inside information as soon as possible. ESMA’s guidance gives a non-exhaustive set of legitimate interests that may support a delay.

Examples include a request from a public authority to keep information confidential; a need for additional information so market participants can assess it accurately; and a risk that disclosure of sensitive commercial information could cost the issuer a business opportunity.

The other situations involve a possible threat to the appointment of a member of the issuer’s governing body or a key manager, and disclosure of inside information about another company in the same group that could directly harm the issuer and undermine that other company’s disclosure delay.

ESMA also removed examples tied to protracted processes. Since June 2026, issuers have not been required to immediately disclose inside information related to protracted processes before those processes are complete. The removal aligns with ESMA’s simplification and burden-reduction objectives.

The revised guidelines apply on the date ESMA publishes them on its website in the European Union’s 24 official languages.