European Supervisory Authorities Launch Second Consultation On Draft Regulatory Technical Standards

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have launched a second consultation on draft Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) outlining the framework of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The document is the result of engagement with other authorities and industry stakeholders and focuses only on a narrow set of topics in order to clarify and finalize all the operation issues that may arise from the implementation of the EMIR framework. These draft RTSs prescribe the regulatory amount of initial and variation margin that counterparties should exchange, as well as the methodologies for their calculations, for over-the-counter derivative transactions not subject to central clearing. The RTSs also outline the criteria for eligible collateral, and establish the criteria to ensure that such collateral is sufficiently diversified and not subject to wrong-way risk. The consultation closes on July 10, 2015.  Release.