ISDA Welcomes Agreement Reached on EMIR
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) welcome the decisions reached between the European Council and Parliament concerning the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
ISDA states that it supports a resilient and efficient market and regulatory infrastructure that achieves the objectives of EMIR, which aims to increase transparency and reduce risk in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets.
ISDA is also hopeful that the adoption of EMIR will provide the opportunity for meaningful international convergence and full transparency to regulators, while forming the basis for stable and efficient central clearing, for the benefit of governments, regulators and end-users.
ISDA is also supportive of ESMA and its role with respect to the identification of contracts subject to the clearing obligation and the roll-out of clearing to various categories of counterparty, as the association believes this will allow CCPs to better manage operational risk and will also allow smaller counterparties to prepare operationally and financially.
According to ISDA, the challenges that lie ahead will include the sequencing of implementation of G20 commitments on clearing. ISDA believes that international workstreams to support convergence around these implementation timelines is highly important.
Another challenge ISDA foresees is the immense workload the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) will face in a limited timeframe, as they approach critical rule-making mandates over the coming months and years.
