Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 3 | 2026

AI ESMA: AI Adoption and Trends in Securities Markets On 20 February 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published in its Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities Risk Analysis an article on ‘Al adoption and trends in securities markets: EU evidence’. ESMA says that the article evaluates recent trends related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in securities markets. Based on a survey conducted in the summer of 2025 across the EU, it examines financial market participants’ self-reported use of AI and yields insights on the benefits and the challenges associated with AI’s growing relevance for firms’ competitiveness. In summary, ESMA covers the following: • Adoption and investment : AI adoption in the EU financial sector remains partial and uneven, with smaller firms lagging larger ones in terms of investment, deployment, expected efficiency gains, as well as the ability to develop models and leverage internal data. However, firms’ sentiment on AI appears to be trending upward across the board, with 70% of firms anticipating an increase in AI-related investment between 2025 and 2027. • Use cases, benefits and risks : Current use cases focus on low-autonomy, general-purpose back-office tools expected to enhance operational efficiency, although firms are experimenting with a variety of more customised, sector-specific applications. Regarding the challenges associated with AI deployment, data- and model-related vulnerabilities introduced or amplified by AI systems are among firms’ top concerns, with cybersecurity and third-party dependencies also frequently highlighted. • Infrastructure, models and data : While most surveyed firms (62%) rely exclusively on commercial cloud solutions for AI infrastructure, they deploy models from a variety of sources, from off-the-shelf tools (36%) to those developed in-house (43%). However, firms’ reliance on a small number of AI infrastructure providers may be shaping third-party dependencies that warrant monitoring due to the potential operational risk they pose. At the same time, competitive pressures are pushing firms to scale up their use of and investment in AI to remain efficient and innovative. Against this background, ESMA says that it will continue monitoring AI developments in its remit to ensure their implications and potential risks are well understood and considered in its ongoing Risk Monitoring and ad-hoc Risk Analysis work. Link to ESMA TRV Article here Investor Services Bite-Sized Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services QUICK LINKS Issue 3 | 2026 AI DIGITAL ASSETS EMIR FINTECH FSB IOSCO MIFID II/MIFIR SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE LUXEMBOURG NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM