Proposed Amendments To EMIR Margin RTS

The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - "ESAs") have published a revised Final Report setting out proposed revisions to the Regulatory Technical Standards regarding non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives (bilateral margining) under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

This report is an update from the previous version that the ESAs submitted to the European Commission in December 2019 and updates the timing of Phases 5 and 6 of the initial margin requirements to follow the one-year deferrals proposed by BCBS/IOSCO in April 2020 as a result of COVID-19.

The key proposed revisions are the following:

• Extension of the implementation timetable for regulatory initial margin requirements, to align with the latest timetable set out by BCBS/IOSCO last month. This would mean that the Phase 5 implementation deadline of 1 September 2021 would apply to counterparties with an Aggregate Average Notional Amount (AANA) of EUR 50 billion;