FIA has responded to the European Securities and Markets Authority's consultation on EMIR 3.0 draft regulatory technical standards on the elements to be considered when EU central counterparties define participation requirements. The consultation seeks to clarify and harmonise the financial, operational and governance standards that entities must meet to become or remain clearing members, including the conditions under which non-financial counterparties may access CCP membership directly.
FIA and its members support ESMA’s objective of strengthening CCP resilience through robust, risk-based participation requirements, while emphasising the importance of transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality, as mandated by EMIR Level 1 legislation.
The response highlights the need for CCPs to assess clearing members based on the actual risks they pose, rather than relying on entity type or licensing status as proxies for risk. In particular, the response distinguishes between regulated non-bank financial clearing members and non-financial counterparties that typically clear to hedge commercial exposures and do not provide financial services.
The response also identifies existing inconsistencies in the EU clearing landscape, including exemptions from default fund participation and cross-CCP membership arrangements, which raise questions of fair treatment and risk mutualisation.
Finally, it stresses the importance of margin transparency, consistent supervisory outcomes and phased implementation timelines to avoid market disruption and unintended concentration of clearing activity.
Read the response here.
