Euronext - 2020 Universal Registration Document

Risk Management & Control Structure

Risk Factors

COMPLIANCE RISKS

CAPITAL REQUIREMENT MAINTENANCE RISK

Risk Identification and Description

Potential Impact on the Group

Euronext N.V. as well as certain local entities, operate under strict regulatory requirements, which may include the maintenance of minimum capital requirements. Management of regulatory capital is conducted in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) as well respectively applicable national requirements. There is a risk that Euronext N.V. or one of its regulated entities fails to maintain the regulatory capital requirements.

In the event that the Euronext N.V. or its regulated subsidiaries do not have sufficient regulatory capital, its operating licenses may be jeopardized, which will negatively impact the Euronext’s capacity to operate the financial infrastructure, and negatively impacts, revenues, brand and reputation.

2

REGULATORY AND LIABILITIES RISK

Risk Identification and Description

Potential Impact on the Group

Euronext operates in a highly regulated environment with multiple regulators. As a result, many aspects of Euronext’s business involve the potential risk that one or more of the Group’s entities may fail to comply with the regulatory or contractual requirements to which it is subject. Compliance riskmay arise under laws and regulations relating to financial markets and services, insurance, tax, employee behavior, misuse of data and intellectual property of others, antimoney laundering and market abuse, financial sanctions, foreign asset controls, data privacy and foreign corrupt practices areas. In addition, regulatory reporting and outsourcing topics have increased focus by regulators. This risk also includes potential liabilities from disputes over terms of a securities trade or from claims that a system or operational failure or delay caused monetary losses to a customer, claims that the Group facilitated an unauthorised transaction or that it provided materially false or misleading statements in connection with a transaction as well as employment and competition matters and other commercial disputes. Euronext owns or licenses rights to a number of trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, free or open source software, applications, products, specific deliverables, software and databases that are used in its business, which are installed on premises or accessible through and hosted in a third party environment/infrastructure sometimes located outside of the territory where Euronext is based. There is a risk that this intellectual property could be misappropriated by third parties. There is also a risk that during its business activities, Euronext could inadvertently infringe third party IP rights, particularly as (i) Euronext’s business becomes increasingly digitalized and relies more on third party software, environment/ infrastructure or editors to support and operate a number of its applications (ii) Euronext is subject to the replacement of initial IP rights by new IP rights without having the possibility to validate these newly replaced IP rights, therefore putting Euronext in a situation in which it would be liable for infringement as it is obliged to continue to use the software, applications, solution or database concerned (iii) IP rights owners can proceed at any moment to verification and audit knowing that they are solely in possession of or in capacity to understand the applicable metrics in the frame of a license. OWNERSHIP AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISK Risk Identification and Description

Euronext could be exposed to fines or sanctions from relevant regulators, authorities or a court, which could be significant and may expose the Group to significant reputational damage. In addition, Euronext could incur significant legal expenses in defending claims, even those without merit. Any adverse resolution of any lawsuit or claimagainst the Group may require it to pay substantial damages or impose restrictions on how it conducts its business, any of which could have an effect on both the business and financial results, and the reputation of the Group.

Potential Impact on the Group

Failure to protect intellectual property adequately could harm the Group’s reputation and affect its ability to compete effectively, the value of that intellectual property as an asset may be diminished, while some licencing or product revenues relating to that intellectual property may also be diminished. Further, defending the Group’s intellectual property rights may require significant financial and managerial resources. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Group’s business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In the event that third parties assert intellectual property rights claims against the Group these claims, with or without merit, could be expensive to litigate or settle and could divert management resources and attention. Successful challenges against could require the Group to modify or discontinue its use of technology or business processes where such use is found to infringe or violate the rights of others, or require the Group to purchase licences from third parties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Group’s business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

53

2020 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online