ESMA withdraws registrations of four UK-based trade repositories
The scale of the consequences of the end of the Brexit transition period is yet to be determined. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today announces that it has withdrawn the registrations of four UK-based trade repositories (TRs).
The trade repositories that had their registrations withdrawn are:
- DTCC Derivatives Repository Plc;
- UnaVista Limited;
- CME Trade Repository Ltd; and
- ICE Trade Vault Europe Ltd.
ESMA explains that UK-based TRs can no longer be used for derivatives and SFTs reporting. As a result of these withdrawal decisions, EU derivatives and securities financing transactions subject to the reporting obligation under EMIR and SFTR can no longer be reported to any of the TRs above but need to be reported to a TR in the European Union.
Also today, ESMA announces the withdrawal of the registrations of six UK-based credit rating agencies (CRAs). These are:
- AM Best Europe-Rating Services Ltd;
- DBRS Ratings Ltd;
- Fitch Ratings Ltd;
- Fitch Ratings CIS Ltd;
- Moody’s Investors Service Ltd;
- The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd;
The CRA Regulation and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), as well as the Regulation on transparency of securities financing transactions and of reuse (SFTR), require ESMA to withdraw the registration of a firm where it no longer meets the conditions under which it was registered, including being a legal person established in the EU.
ESMA notes that UK credit ratings will need to be endorsed for EU use. The ratings issued by the six CRAs enlisted above cannot be used for regulatory purposes in the EU unless endorsed by an EU CRA. ESMA, in a previous communication on 27 October 2020, confirmed that all UK-based CRAs except the Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd took steps to ensure that an EU CRA is willing and able to endorse its credit ratings.