17 February 2021. Delegated Regulations further amending the EMIR Margin RTS and amending the three Clearing Obligation RTS have today been published in the OJ. They will both enter into force on the following day- 18 February 2021. Amendments to the Margin RTS Extension of equity options derogation until 4 Jan 2024 Extension of intragroup […]

Although confirming an earlier Audit Court judgement in respect of jurisdiction, the recent publication of a 17 November 2020 decision in respect of Morgan Stanley by the Italian Supreme Court (Court of Cassation), serves as a reminder that the status of derivatives under Italian law is still far from settled. This note briefly reviews the […]

The IBOR Fallbacks Protocol is legally effective as of today. Following a permanent IBOR cessation, or an FCA determination that a LIBOR has “become” non-representative, fallbacks in the form of adjusted risk-free rates will apply to in-scope derivatives contracts. Clearly, the Protocol only applies to those who have adhered- 11902 to date. Purely in terms […]

ESMA has this morning released a public statement confirming that the EU Derivatives Trading Obligation (DTO) will continue to apply after Brexit transition. The DTO under Article 28 of MiFIR requires firms to transact certain derivatives (essentially the most liquid, standardised contracts) on an EU trading venue, or that of a third country already judged […]

On 23 October, the European Commission approved ESMA’s amended RTS, delaying the CSDR’s controversial settlement discipline regime until 1 February 2022. The amended RTS can be found here. Having been rubber-stamped by the Commission the RTS now enter the mandated three month period, pending non-objection by the Parliament and the Council. Despite adding to an […]

As a profession, lawyers are perhaps not best known for their eager embrace of new technology. The cynically-minded may say such reticence does not extend to the pursuit of money. The advent of new technologies, credibly promising substantial savings, will put these previously compatible stereotypes to the test. Over the last few years, ISDA and […]

ESMA has confirmed its intention to extend its delay of the CSDR’s Settlement Discipline Regime (SDR) until February 2022. An initial delay from the 13 September 2020 until 1 February 2021 was awaiting non-objection by the Parliament and Council to an earlier “Final” Report. This will now be superseded by a Final(er) Report on postponing […]

Welcome to the sixth in our COVID-19 Regulatory update. Another relatively quiet period for COVID-19 related regulatory initiatives. With this in mind, forthcoming updates will be published on a fortnightly basis, or as and when sufficiently significant announcements are released.  

Welcome to the fifth in our weekly COVID-19 Regulatory update. A relatively quiet week in terms of new COVID-19 related regulation. The FCA has announced that it will be sending out weekly updates on COVID-19 for those interested, as well as clarifying the scope of SM&CR.