Bolsa Nacional de Valores

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Bolsa Nacional de Valores

Name Bolsa Nacional de Valores
Country Costa Rica
Number of listed companies 10
Domestic market capitalization 2037.34 million US$
SSE Partner Exchange Yes
Has annual sustainability report Yes
ESG reporting required as a listing rule No

  • There is mandatory corporate governance regulation for the securities market, issued by The Securities Regulator (SUGEVAL). Regulation in Spanish here.
Has written guidance on ESG reporting Yes
Offers ESG related training Yes
Market covered by sustainability-related index No
Has sustainability bond listing segment No

  • There is a specific section on the website that shows: general information, on-line training, benefits for issuers, the standard for the emission and so on. Green bonds section here.
  • The National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica defined a standard for the green bonds emission, based on the Green Bond Principles (GBP-ICMA) in order to provide transparency and confidence to the investors. Through this new instrument, the Exchange promotes the financing of green projects in Costa Rica through the stock market. Find standards for emission here, video about green bonds here, green bond section here.
  • The exchange plans to launch a green bond listing segment in 2019.
Has SME listing platform No
Women on boards mandatory minimum rule No
Additional information
  • The BNV promotes projects that generate economic, social and environmental value, such as:
    • Providing textbooks, school supplies and computer labs to schools, as well as facilitating improvements in classroom infrastructure.
    • Supporting new entrepreneurs as a jury and sponsor of the Seedstars Costa Rica edition, an event that awards innovative small entrepreneurs with potential projects.
  • BNV Aprenda is a form of self-taught training online which allows users to learn about the Costa Rican stock market.
  • MAPA, the Mercado Alternativo para Acciones, is an initiative that promotes raising capital for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through MAPA, BNV helps SMEs in adopting governance best practice and becoming more professional.
Organizational model of stock exchange
  • Private company owned by the brokerage companies (mutualized), and it is not a listed company.
Regulatory bodies

Regulatory model
  • Government (Statutory).
  • In Costa Rica exists the Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero (CONASSIF) which is the superior regulator entity in Costa Rica, its purpose is to provide uniformity and integration to the activities of regulation and supervision of the Costa Rican Financial System. CONASSIF executes its work on the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF), the Superintendencia General de Seguros (SUGESE), the Superintendencia de Pensiones (SUPEN) and the Superintendencia General de Valores (SUGEVAL).
  • Meanwhile, the SUGEVAL is the entity in charge of supervising the whole securities market, the National Stock Exchange is supervised by it. Moreover, in Costa Rica exist a regulation (Securities Market Regulatory Law N°7732) that has as a main purpose the regulation of: the securities markets, the individuals and legal entities that directly or indirectly participate in this market. Furthermore, the National Stock Exchange must regulate the operation of the market and autorized the Brokers and Brokerages.
About the stock exchange

Location: San José, Costa Rica

  • Founded: 29 September 1976.
  • The National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica is a private organization owned by brokerages in accordance with the Securities Market Regulatory Law. The main purpose of the exchange is to facilitate transactions with securities, as well as the authorization, inspection and regulation of brokers. In addition, the exchange provides the technological platform that facilitates the trade of securities, and provides a meeting point between investors and issuers that requires financing of public and private projects.
  • The exchange is the only platform for the secondary market, based on national regulation.
  • The BNV contributes to the formation of prices of traded securities and provides a strong regulated structure that gives transparency and confidence to the various market participants.
  • The BNV is the biggest and oldest exchange in the Central America region.

Criteria for Stock Exchange Database

The SSE maintains a database of sustainability activities for all stock exchanges that are either members of the SSE initiative and/or members of the World Federation of Exchanges. This database is the most comprehensive database of stock exchanges worldwide and contains data on all main stock exchanges. The information in this database is intended to inform investors and other stakeholders on the work stock exchanges are undertaking to advance sustainability in their respective markets.

The information provided in this database is based on publicly available information prepared by the SSE Secretariat with input from stock exchanges in most instances. Sources and explanatory notes on sustainability information have been included in individual Stock Exchange Fact Sheets. The criteria for each category can be found below.

While every effort is made to keep the information in this database up to date, please be aware that certain factors change frequently and therefore may not be exact, such as the number of listed companies or market cap.

Field

Criteria Considered
Country Country of primary residence or registration
Has signed the SSE Commitment Letter? To be considered an SSE Partner Exchange, the CEO or Chairperson of the exchange must sign an SSE commitment letter. Contact the SSE for more information if your exchange would like to join.
Has annual sustainability report? For a yes, stock exchanges must report, either in a stand alone report or integrated into their financial report, on their environmental and social impact and corporate governance.
ESG reporting required as a listing rule? For a yes, all three factors have been considered (environmental, social and governance) within the listing rules for some or all listed companies. This requirement may come from the regulatory authority or the exchange, depending on the market.
Offers written guidance on ESG reporting? For a yes, all three factors have been considered (environmental, social and governance). The SSE has developed a model guidance that all exchanges can use to develop their own guidance to issuers. For more details, click here.
Offers ESG related training? For a yes, training must have taken place in the previous 12 months, and must be interactive. The topic of the training must be on some area of sustainability.
Market covered by sustainability-related index? Sustainability-related indices may include environmental or social  indices, or ESG indices. This could include specific themes, such as low carbon indices, or general sustainability indices. The index must be specific to the market the exchange operates in (a region or world index is not included).
Has sustainability bond listing segment? For a yes, the exchange has developed the rules and regulations allowing for sustainability bonds to be listed, and provides a separate segment for listing making the bonds easy to find and identify.
Has an SME listing platform? For a yes, the exchange offers a listing platform specifically for Small-and-Medium sized enterprises.
Additional Information Additional Information captures exchanges’: sustainability section of websites,  sustainability products not captured under indices; information on future sustainability commitments and other information on the exchange
Organizational model of stock exchange Whether the exchange is listed or not, and when it was demutualized
Regulatory bodies The regulatory authority that sets listing requirements and capital market regulation for the exchange's market
Regulatory model

The extent to which exchanges have regulatory authority in their market. This may include:

  • Limited exchange SRO
  • Strong exchange SRO
  • Independent member SRO
  • Government (Statutory)
  • Non-SRO
About the stock exchange The location of the headquarters of the exchange, and any additional details about the stock exchange.