The review period for EMIR’s RTS expired this weekend without murmur from the Parliament or the Council, both bodies had publicly stated that they would be making no objection. The end of the scrutiny period sends the RTS for publication on the Official Journal, marking a 20-day countdown for entry into force, the OJ is […]

On 10 November 2015 ESMA published a final report delineating additional draft RTS on IRS clearing under Article 5 EMIR. The additions, included as Annex III to the report, propose the mandatory clearing of FRAs and fixed-float IRS denominated Norwegian krone (NOK), Polish zloty (PLN) and Swedish krona (SEK). ESMA believes the inclusion of these […]

ESMA has issued the final draft RTS for CDS clearing. `The draft defines the type and sub-type of CDS that will be subject to the clearing obligation and the dates from which it will apply. The draft stipulates that clearing will initially apply to the following two CDS classes: ID Type Sub-type Geographical Zone Reference […]

As promised, ESMA has published final draft MiFID II/MiFIR  regulatory and implementing technical standards. In case regulatory teams weren’t already reeling from the 552 pages of the MiFID II RTS, ESMA also published technical standards for  MiFID II interdependent MAD/MAR and CSDR, making a total of 2505 pages of which every word will be pored […]

ESMA has today updated its list of  CCPs to include CME Clearing Europe as EMIR-authorised to clear short-term interest rate futures (STIRs) and deliverable swap futures (DSFs).

On 15 July 2015, the Bank of England published the summary of feedback received and policy response to the implementation of ESMA’s Guidelines and Recommendations on CCP interoperability arrangements. The Consultation Paper was published on 20 November 2014, seeking comments on a shortlist of five specific issues. The paper noted that the market practice essentially followed […]

On 1 July 2015, ESMA published a Final report on the extension of the scope of interoperability arrangements, from transferable securities and money-market instruments to derivatives. Under interoperability arrangements, two or more CCPs offer a cross-system execution of transactions. Current arrangements exist for EU equities, EU government bonds and Exchange Traded Derivatives. Title V of […]

ESMA has today recognised ten third-country CCPs as authorised to offer services and activities in the Union. Each CCP comes from four jurisdictions previously assessed as equivalent by the EC. The full list includes the classes of financial instruments covered by the recognition. A short summary follows: Australia: ASX Clear (Futures) Pty Limited, ASX Clear […]

On 31 March 2015, ESMA published its 12th Q&A on EMIR implementation. Since the previous Q&A dated 24 October 2014, ESMA provided further clarification on the following issues: OTC Questions: Intragroup transactions Status of sovereign funds Pension Scheme exemption from the clearing obligation Frontloading requirement and intragroup transactions exemption Clearing obligation in relation with trade novations […]