-
EU Legislation Imposing Clearing Obligation for Credit Default Swaps Published
04/19/2016A Commission Delegated Regulation on central clearing for credit default swaps supplementing the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Under the Regulation, two classes of credit default over-the-counter derivatives are subject to the clearing obligation under EMIR: iTraxx Europe Main and iTraxx Europe Crossover. The Regulation also specifies four categories of counterparties subject to clearing obligations under EMIR and the corresponding dates on which the obligations take effect: (i) counterparties which are clearing members for at least one of the two aforementioned classes of OTC derivatives, of at least one of the central counterparties authorized or recognized before February 9, 2017 to clear at least one of those classes; (ii) counterparties (financial or alternative investment funds that are non-financial counterparties) not included in category (i) who have an aggregate month-end average of outstanding gross notional amount of non-centrally cleared derivatives above EUR 8 billion; (iii) counterparties (financial or alternative investment funds that are non-financial counterparties) that are not included in either (i) or (ii); and (iv) non-financial counterparties that do not belong to any of the above categories. Category (i) obligations take effect on February 9, 2017, category (ii) obligations take effect on August 9, 2017, category (iii) obligations take effect on February 9, 2018, and (iv) obligations take effect on May 9, 2019. Where a derivative contract concluded between two counterparties is included in different categories of counterparties, the date from which the clearing obligation takes effect for the contract shall be whichever is the later date. The Regulation also outlines the minimum remaining maturity for the different categories of counterparties. The Regulation will enter into force on May 9, 2016.
Financial Regulatory Developments Focus