S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced that the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) has granted the index provider’s Netherlands entity, S&P DJI BV, authorisation as a regulated Dutch benchmark administrator, under the EU benchmark regulation.

Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The regulation, which has been in effect since 1 January 2018, forms part of the EU’s drive to enhance the reliability and integrity of financial benchmarks following the LIBOR scandal in 2012.

It offers a harmonized framework for index providers, thereby providing investors in index-linked products, such as ETFs, with a greater degree of confidence that these indices will not be subject to manipulation.

Both EU and non-EU entities that administer financial benchmarks used in the EU are required to apply for a license under the EU Benchmarks Regulation before 1 January 2020.

The authorisation of S&P DJI BV completes the first phase of a two-step implementation process of the EU benchmark regulation by S&P DJI.

As an authorised EU benchmark administrator, S&P DJI BV will act as the ‘endorsing’ administrator for those benchmarks administered by S&P DJI outside of the EU so that EU supervised entities will be able to continue to use such benchmarks after the transition period expires on 1 January, 2020.

“We are very pleased with the AFM’s authorisation and are delighted to be opening our office in Amsterdam, a historic city for capital markets,” said Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“Since 1884 S&P DJI has established best practices for the transparent and independent governance of our indices. Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to a robust financial market system and to developing European capital markets.”

S&P Dow Jones Indices becomes latest index provider to gain authorisation, following MSCI’s approval in March and FTSE Russell’s in June.