AMSTERDAM, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI"), the world's leading index provider, today announced that its iconic benchmarks, including the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®, have been admitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) register of third country benchmarks, under the European Union's Benchmark Regulation. 

The inclusion of S&P DJI's benchmarks to the ESMA register enables supervised entities (such as banks, investment firms and insurance companies) to continue using these indices in the EU. This marks the final phase of S&P DJI's EU benchmark regulatory application and implementation process.

"We are proud to be the first benchmark administrator to be granted this endorsement. The EU is an important market for S&P Dow Jones Indices and this demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of regulatory compliance in the region and around the globe," said Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices. "S&P DJI has been working tirelessly to meet the EU BMR requirements and ensure that our institutional clients continue to have access to our suite of innovative indices and services in a seamless and transparent way."

In December 2018, S&P DJI established an authorised EU benchmark administrator (S&P DJI Netherlands B.V.) supervised by the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets. S&P DJI Netherlands B.V. is the endorsing administrator for these benchmarks under the EU Benchmark Regulation.

S&P DJI's benchmarks are listed on the ESMA register for third country benchmarks and can be accessed through their public website here. More information on S&P DJI's governance framework can be found on the governance page of S&P DJI's website here.

ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES

S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500^® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average^®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.spdji.com.

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices