ISDA Response to ESMA on Technical Standards for Commodity Derivatives

On July 23, 2021, ISDA and the Futures Industry Association (FIA) submitted a joint response to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) consultation on technical standards (draft RTS 21 and ITS 4) for commodity derivatives, following announced changes to the position limits regime as part of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive’s ‘quick fix’, which will apply from February 28, 2022.

While members are largely supportive of draft RTS 21 and ITS 4 and believe they will improve the position limits regime, there are some areas of concern. These include ESMA’s proposals relating to a scenario where deliverable supply is substantially higher than open interest, and proposals relating to position management, which the associations believe would benefit greatly from increased flexibility for trading venues to avoid a substantial burden on both the venues and market participants.

Documents (1) for ISDA Response to ESMA on Technical Standards for Commodity Derivatives

Safe, Efficient Markets for SFTs

Securities financing transactions (SFTs) – including repurchase agreements (repo), securities lending, buy/sell backs and margin lending – are foundational to the functioning of modern financial markets. They support the day-to-day distribution of liquidity, enable collateral to move efficiently across cash...

ISDA Recommendations to Simplify EU Regulation

On March 9, ISDA submitted a paper to the European Commission setting out focused proposals to improve the functioning of the EU regulatory framework for derivatives. The paper comprises eight targeted recommendations to simplify selected Level 1 provisions in a...