CCPs

UK and US Authorities Release Statement on Post-Brexit Continuity of Derivatives Trading and Clearing

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On February 25, the Bank of England (BoE), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published a joint statement detailing the measures that will be taken to ensure the continuity of UK-US derivatives trading and clearing activities after Brexit.

The measures address:

UK equivalence for the US: UK authorities have confirmed that US trading venues, firms and central counterparties (CCPs) will be able to continue providing services in the UK. The basis on which these trading venues, firms and CCPs currently provide services in the EU and to EU firms is as a result of various decisions taken by the European Commission in declaring the CFTC regulatory framework equivalent.

Continued supervisory co-operation: The FCA and CFTC will update their memorandums of understanding (MoUs) covering certain firms in the derivatives and the alternative investment fund industry. The BoE and CFTC will update their MoU covering clearing activity, in connection with the UK’s forthcoming recognition of CFTC-registered CCPs.

Extension of existing CFTC relief and comparability for the UK: The CFTC intends that existing regulatory relief granted by the CFTC to EU firms, including UK firms, will be extended to UK firms when the UK leaves the EU.

ESMA Publishes Statement on No-Deal Brexit Contingency Plans of CRAs and Trade Repositories

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ESMA published a statement on the contingency plans of credit rating agencies (“CRAs“) and trade repositories (“TRs“) in the context of Brexit (ESMA80-187-149) on November 9.

ESMA has published the statement to raise market participants’ awareness of the readiness of CRAs and TRs for the possibility of there being a no-deal Brexit. ESMA states that entities using services provided by CRAs and TRs need to consider the scenario of a no-deal Brexit and the consequences of TRs and CRAs established in the UK losing their EU registration when the UK leaves the EU. READ MORE →

AFME Calls on Authorities to Urgently Address Brexit Cliff Edge Risks for Financial Services Sector

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On October 22, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (“AFME“) published a press release on avoiding a Brexit cliff edge in financial services, these concerns were reiterated in a letter to the European Commission, urging the Commission along with member states and regulators to provide steps that will be taken to address these risks. In particular, it outlined three risks that need addressing urgently:

  1. Continued access to central counterparties (“CCPs“) – It has been suggested that EU27 banks could move positions to EU CCPs, however this seems unrealistic in the time frame and it is questionable whether the market alone could supply sufficient liquidity for such significant shifts of positions between CCPs. Also, there is currently no available alternative for clearing some products in the EU27. In the absence of clarity, there is a risk that UK CCPs may have to start delivering termination notices to their EU27 clearing participants as early as December 2018.
  2. Continued servicing of existing contracts – firms should be able to continue to perform contractual obligations under existing OTC derivatives contracts in most member states, however it might not be possible to perform essential “life cycle” events (such as exercising options or transferring collateral) and transferring legacy clients onto new contracts ahead of Brexit would be hugely challenging, especially in a no-deal scenario.
  3. Cross border data transfers – the ability to transfer data is vital to support cross-border business and essential for maintaining day to day operations.

UK Withdrawl from the EU: Changes to PRA Rulebook and Onshored Binding Technical Standards

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On October 25, the Bank of England (“BOE“) and the PRA published a package of consultation papers that propose changes to the relevant onshored binding technical standards (“BTS“), the rules for financial market infrastructure providers and the PRA Rulebook arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. They do not reflect any other policy changes other that those related to EU withdrawal.

The deadline for comments on all four consultation papers in January 2, 2019.

The papers are relevant to:

  • All firms authorized and regulated by the PRA.
  • EEA firms undertaking cross-border activities into the UK from the rest of the EU.
  • UK financial market infrastructures (“FMIs“) regulated by the BOE.
  • Non-UK central counterparties (“CCPs“) and central securities depositories (“CSDs“) providing cross-border services into the UK.

European Parliament Votes to Adopt Report on Decision on Increased Regulatory Powers for ECB over Clearing Systems

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On July 4, 2018, the European Parliament published the minutes of its plenary session, which confirms that it has voted (in plenary) to adopt a report on a draft decision amending Article 22 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (“ECB“) (2017/0810(COD)).

The text of the amendments to the decision adopted by the Parliament has also been published.

The decision is in relation to the ECB’s recommendation for the decision made in June 2017, in which it asked for a greater role in regulating clearing systems for financial instruments, including central counterparties (“CCPs“), by amending Article 22 of the Statute

This amendment would enable the Eurosystem (i.e. the ECB and the national central banks of member states in the Eurozone) to monitor and assess risks posed by CCPs clearing significant amounts of euro-denominated transactions, and enable the ECB to adopt additional requirements for those CCPs.

The Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (“ECON“) and Committee on Constitutional Affairs (“AFCO“) published the final version of a joint report containing proposed amendments to the decision in June 2018.

Once the Council has decided its own negotiating position, the Parliament will enter into interinstitutional negotiations with the Council of the EU on the decision.

European Parliament Adopts EMIR Refit Regulation

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The European Parliament published a press release on June 12, 2018 announcing that it has voted in plenary to adopt the proposed Regulation amending EMIR (the Regulation on OTC derivatives, central counterparties (“CCPs“) and trade repositories) (Regulation 648/2012) (EMIR Refit Regulation).

The proposed Regulation will simplify clearing rules for small and non-financial counterparties and provide a temporary exemption for pension scheme arrangements from the mandatory clearing of derivatives.

The Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs published its report on the proposed Regulation on May 25, 2018. It voted to adopt the report on May 16, 2018.

The next step is for the proposed Regulation to be considered by the Council of the EU and the European Commission, which is due to happen in July 2018.

Draft Report Published by ECON-AFCO on Decision to Increase Regulatory Power for ECB Over Clearing Systems

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The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (“ECON“) and Committee on Constitutional Affairs (“AFCO“) have published a joint draft report on a decision to amend article 22 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (“ECB“).

The decision relates to an ECB recommendation for a decision made in June 2017, where it sought a greater role in the regulation of clearing systems for financial instruments, including central counterparties (“CCPs“) by amending article 22 of the statute. This amendment would allow the Eurosystem (i.e. the ECB and the national central banks of Eurozone nations) to assess risks posed by CCPs clearing significant amounts of transactions made in Euros and also to enable the ECB to adopt additional requirements for those CCPs.

Two reporters, Gabriel Mato and Danuta Maria Hübner welcomed the ECB’s proposal. In particular, they highlighted:

  • As the ECB’s new powers will interact with those of other EU institutions, nations will be more inclined to respect the laws of other EU institutions by the acts adopted by the ECB under the amended article 22 of the statute.
  • The recitals of the amending decision should contain regulatory powers that can be used over CCPs by the ECB under article 22 of the statute, including allowing monetary concerns to be addressed.

ESMA Consults on Guidelines on CCP Conflicts of Interest Management Under EMIR

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On June 1, 2017, ESMA published a consultation paper (ESMA70-151-291) on guidelines relating to central counterparties (“CCPs“) management of conflicts of interest.

ESMA explains that the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (“EMIR“) only contains generic provisions relating to CCPs’ conflict of interest management. It requires CCPs to act in the best interests of their clearing members and the clients. Therefore, CCPs need to have in place robust organizational arrangements and policies to prevent potential conflicts of interest and to solve them if they occur. ESMA believes that further guidance would be beneficial and further facilitate supervisory convergence on this area.

The purpose of the guidelines is to set out the criteria CCPs should apply to avoid or mitigate the risks of conflicts of interest and to ensure a consistent implementation across CCPs. Areas addressed by the guidelines include:

  • written arrangements to identify and manage any potential conflicts of interest between CCPs, clearing members and clients;
  • where written arrangements are not sufficient, disclosure of conflicts of interest to the clearing member or clients before entering into any new transactions; and
  • possible conflicts with a CCP’s parent undertaking or subsidiary.

The consultation will close on August 24, 2017, upon which ESMA will consider the feedback received to the consultation. ESMA expects to publish a final report on the guidelines by the end of 2017.

ESMA Publishes New Methodology for Mandatory Peer Reviews of CCPS Authorization and Supervision Under EMIR

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On January 5, 2017, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) published its methodology (ESMA71-1154262120-155) for mandatory peer reviews relating to the authorization and supervision of central counterparties (“CCPs“) under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (“EMIR“) (the Regulation on OTC derivative transactions, CCPs and trade repositories (Regulation 648/2012)).

The scope of peer reviews under EMIR is defined, and ESMA has a specific role to further supervisory cooperation. Based on the experience of the first peer review undertaken in 2016 in the context of EMIR, ESMA’s Board of Supervisors decided that a methodology for the new type of peer reviews should build on the existing methodology. Further reviews will be conducted on, at least, a yearly basis.

The methodology sets out information relating to the legal basis and scope of the review, the topics covered, the assessment specifications and the approach taken to the questionnaire and report.

The application of the methodology will be restricted to peer reviews undertaken in the application of Article 26 of EMIR. This scope may be reconsidered by ESMA at a later date, when the mandatory peer reviews relating to other EU legislation need to be launched (for example, in relation to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/EU) and the Regulation on improving securities settlement and regulating central securities depositories (Regulation 909/2014)).

European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulation on RTS on Minimum Details of Data to Report to Trade Repositories

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On October 19, 2016, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 148/2013 supplementing EMIR (Regulation 648/2012) as regards regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the minimum details of the data to be reported to trade repositories (C(2016) 6624 final).

EMIR requires all counterparties and central counterparties (CCPs) to report the details of any OTC derivative contract they have concluded and of any modification or termination of the contract to a trade repository.

The Delegated Act updates existing standards that were published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ) in February 2013 (see Legal update, Delegated regulations on EMIR regulatory technical standards published in Official Journal). It reflects recent developments and experience gained in the area of trade reporting. The revised RTS aim to:

  • Introduce new fields and values to reflect market practice or other necessary regulatory requirements.
  • Clarify data fields, their description or both.
  • Adapt existing fields to the reporting logic prescribed in existing Q&As or reflect specific ways of populating them.

The Commission has also published an Annex, which sets out the counterparty data and common data details to report to trade repositories.

The next step is for the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to consider the Delegated Regulation. If neither of them objects to it, the Delegated Regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the OJ.