The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today released a Report on Post Trade Risk Reduction services (PTRR) under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The Report analyses whether any trades that directly result from PTTR services should be exempted from the clearing obligation.
Today’s report highlights that a limited and qualified exemption from the clearing obligation would further reduce not only risk in the market, but also its overall complexity.
The Report investigates the different types of PTRR services and explains the purposes and functioning of such services. In addition, ESMA assesses if and to what extent an exemption from the clearing obligation for these services could discourage central clearing and could lead to a circumvention of the clearing obligation.
Central clearing is one of the most important measures introduced after the 2008 financial crisis to reduce systemic risk. To complement clearing in reducing systemic risk, portfolio compression is a requirement under EMIR and today other PTRR services are also offered in the market.
ESMA’s work considers the input received via public consultation, including feedback from users of the services, market associations, PTRR service providers and representatives from CCPs.