Europe’s securities markets regulator has approved the registrations of four trade repositories for the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR).
DTCC, UnaVista TRADEcho, Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartościowych and REGIS-TR are the four repositories to receive authorisation for all types of securities finance transactions, including repo, securities or commodities lending and borrowing transactions, buy-sell back or sell-buy back transactions and margin lending transactions.
The four repositories are already registered with The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for derivatives reporting under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
“With less than three months remaining before SFTR’s implementation deadline for banks, investment firms, CCPs and CSDs, we are encouraged by the level of their preparations. We look forward to continuing to work with our community in support of their regulatory reporting efforts ”said Wal Wotton, Managing Director, Repository & Derivatives Services at DTCC.
In March, Global Custodian reported that ESMA had informally delayed the application of SFTR by three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulator said it expects competent authorities not to prioritise their supervisory actions towards entities subject to reporting obligations as until 13 July 2020.
The regulator added that it will continue to closely monitor the implementation by the relevant market participants as well as the impact of the relevant measures taken with regards to COVID-19 to ensure alignment of SFT reporting requirements and supervisory practices in the EU.
The action followed industry calls to delay the rules, with associations welcoming the respite.
Meanwhile, Global Custodian also reported this week that UK regulators had announced provisions for SFTR to be implemented post-Brexit by allowing trade repositories to register in the country at the conclusion of its EU transition period.
Following Britain’s exit from the EU, a transition period was agreed where regulations would still apply until 1 January 2021, at which point the future of certain financial services rules remain unclear.
In an announcement, the UK Treasury said that it would allow trade repositories to register to operate in the post-transition period, in a similar move it made with EMIR in 2018.