TITLE: European Securities and Markets Authority Publishes Report on Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Trends in EU Securities Markets
BODY:
On 20 February 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a comprehensive risk analysis examining artificial intelligence (AI) adoption trends across EU securities markets. The report, based on a voluntary survey of 728 entities conducted between June and September 2025, provides evidence on financial market participants' AI investment strategies, use cases, benefits, risks, and infrastructure arrangements across 19 EU countries.
The survey reveals uneven AI adoption, with significant disparities between firm sizes. Large firms lead deployment, with 96% either using AI or planning to do so, compared to only 35% of micro firms. Just 44% of all surveyed firms reported AI investments in 2024, concentrated predominantly among larger entities. However, sentiment remains optimistic, with 70% of firms anticipating increased AI investment between 2025 and 2027. Current use cases focus primarily on back-office support functions with low autonomy, including document summarisation, code generation, and data processing. Client-facing applications remain limited. Firms identify operational efficiency and cost reduction as primary benefits, with 75% citing enhanced data analysis capabilities and 67% reporting improved internal processes. Expected cost savings average 2.1 out of 5, with larger firms anticipating greater gains than smaller competitors.
Key risks identified include data quality and protection concerns (cited by 59% and 55% of respondents respectively), model hallucinations (51%), and cybersecurity vulnerabilities (46%). Notably, 62% of firms rely exclusively on commercial cloud solutions, with 41% dependent on single providers, creating potential concentration risks. Microsoft and OpenAI dominate as third-party providers, with approximately 92% of named providers based outside the EU. ESMA will continue monitoring AI developments to ensure supervisory frameworks adequately address emerging vulnerabilities and systemic implications.