The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a Final Report setting out Guidelines for compliance, by central counterparties authorized under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, with their obligations to manage conflicts of interest under EMIR and related Regulatory Technical Standards. ESMA was not directly mandated by provisions in EMIR to prepare the Guidelines. Instead, ESMA has prepared the Guidelines pursuant to the wider mandate in its founding regulation to ensure common, uniform and consistent application of the relevant provisions of EMIR and the RTS.
The Final Report summarises the feedback ESMA received to its consultation on draft Guidelines, which ran between June 1, 2017 and August 24, 2017, and sets out the final form of the Guidelines. After clarifying the concept of conflicts of interest in the context of a CCP's commercial relationships, the Guidelines summarize the organisational arrangements CCPs should have in place, along with additional measures that apply in a group context. Finally the Guidelines specify a procedure for conflicts of interest management.
The Guidelines apply to all EU national regulators that supervise CCPs, and will take effect on April 7, 2018. This date is also the deadline for national regulators to inform ESMA whether they comply or intend to comply with the Guidelines, with reasons for non-compliance. All CCPs must report to their national regulator on their compliance with the Guidelines.
View the Guidelines (ESMA70-151-1094).
