Technical Standards Under the EU Benchmarks Regulation to Apply From January 2019

A series of ten Commission Delegated Regulations, comprising all of the Regulatory Technical Standards to supplement the EU Benchmarks Regulation, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Benchmarks Regulation, which took effect directly across the EU in January 2018, sets out the authorization and registration requirements for benchmark administrators, including third-country entities, and the requirements for governance and control of administrators. It provides for different categories of benchmarks depending on the risks involved, imposes additional requirements on benchmarks considered to be "critical" and gives powers to national regulators to mandate, under certain conditions, contributions to or the administration of critical benchmarks. The RTS outline the behaviors and standards expected of administrators of and contributors to benchmarks. Draft Commission Delegated Regulations setting out the RTS were adopted by the European Commission in July 2018.

All of the Commission Delegated Regulations will enter into force on November 25, 2018 and they will apply directly across the EU from January 25, 2019.

The Commission Delegated Regulations set out RTS in the following areas:

1. The procedures and characteristics of the oversight function for benchmark administrators.
2. The appropriateness and the verifiability of input data, together with the internal oversight and verification procedures of a contributor.
3. The elements of the code of conduct for contributors.
4. The requirements concerning governance, systems and controls of supervised contributors.
5. The information to be provided by an administrator of a critical or significant benchmark about the benchmark and methodology.
6. The criteria that a national regulator should take into account when deciding whether a critical benchmark administrator should apply certain additional requirements.
7. The contents of the benchmark statement and the cases in which an update of such a statement is required.
8. The minimum content of the cooperation arrangements between the European Securities and Markets Authority and third-country national regulators whose legal framework and supervisory practices have been recognized as equivalent.
9. The form and content of an application for recognition of a third-country administrator with the competent authority of the Member State of reference and of the presentation of information in the notification to ESMA.
10. The information to be provided on an application for authorization or registration.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1637 on the procedures and characteristics of the oversight function.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1638 on the appropriateness and verifiability of input data and oversight and verification procedures of contributors.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1639 on elements of the code of conduct for contributors.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1640 on governance and systems and controls requirements for supervised contributors.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1641 on information to be provided by an administrator of a critical or significant benchmark about the benchmark and methodology.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1642 on the criteria for assessment of administrators of significant benchmarks.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1643 on the contents of and updates to benchmark statements.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1644 on cooperation arrangements between ESMA and national regulators of third countries recognized as equivalent.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1645 on the form and content of an application for recognition of a third-country administrator and on information in the notification to ESMA.

View Commission Delegated Regulation 2018/1646 on information to be included in an authorization application and a registration application.

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