A new trade association – The Approved Reporting Mechanism Association (TARMA) – has been created, with the aim of providing an industry body to support the interests of approved reporting mechanisms (ARMs) across the UK and Europe.
Jose Navarro
The formation aligns with increasing regulatory focus on the structure and purpose of transaction reporting regimes in the UK and Europe, with Bloomberg data reporting services, LSEG Regulatory Reporting Solutions and MarketAxess Post-Trade serving as the three founding members.
Specifically, ARMs serve as a Mifid II-regulated third-party entities which submit transaction reports to national competent authorities or the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on behalf of investment firms, to ensure trade data accuracy and completeness.
Jose Navarro, chief executive of regulatory reporting BV at LSEG and the first chair of TARMA, said: “TARMA has been established to be a clear and constructive advocate for ARMs at a time of significant regulatory change. We look forward to working closely with regulators and industry participants to support practical, high-quality transaction reporting outcomes.”
Building on this, TARMA has also confirmed that its core objectives span: representing ARMs across the UK and Europe, advocating on relevant rule-making processes, promoting consistency and clarity in transaction reporting standards and developing and encouraging the adoption of best practices.
Moreover, the move comes amid the backdrop of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent consultation on the UK transaction reporting regime, which closed on 20 February.
The consultation aimed to propose changes that “reduce the regulatory burden on firms, support sustained economic growth in the UK, enhance our ability to fight financial crime and protect market integrity.”
As a result, industry bodies such as FIX have also proposed recommendations off the back of this.
Specifically, the proposals sought to align rules with EU post-trade reporting, clarify single-sided reporting responsibilities, promote practical data sourcing and quality standards, streamline fields while preserving transparency, avoid unintended complexity or data degradation, and acknowledge the operational impact of adding new reporting requirements.