The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today approved the registration of four trade repositories (TRs) and confirmed reporting is to begin on 12 February.
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)’s Derivatives Repository, Poland’s Central Securities Depository of Poland (KDPW), REGIS-TR, a joint venture by Iberclear and Clearstream, and the London Stock Exchange’s UnaVista were granted licences under the European market infrastructure regulation (EMIR).
A decision has yet to be made on applications from CME Group and IntercontinentalExchange.
Steven Maijoor, ESMA chair, said registering the first European trade repositories is an important step to make the derivatives market more transparent and resilient.
“The data gathered by TRs will enable regulators to identify and reduce
the risks associated with derivative markets,” he said.
“ESMA’s TR supervision will ensure more robust market infrastructures and
benefit investors, financial markets and the economy as a whole.”
David Retana, managing director of REGIS-TR, said receiving trade repository authorisation is a key milestone for the company.
“The ESMA license is important in that it shows our commitment to our prospective customers and confirms REGIS-TR is fully compliant with the EMIR rules and the ESMA technical standards,” he said.
The TR registrations will take effect on 14 November, and market participants will be required to start reporting OTC derivatives trades under EMIR on 12 February, which is 90 working days after the official registration date.
Preparedness for reporting is mixed among market participants, with buy-side firms still seeking clarity from ESMA on unique transaction identifiers, which is one of 85 data fields required by TRs.