Consultation Paper : Clearing Obligation under EMIR (no. 1)

With the overarching objective of reducing systemic risk, EMIR introduces the obligation to clear certain classes of OTC derivatives in central clearing houses (CCPs) that have been authorised (European CCPs) or recognised (third-country CCPs) under its framework.ESMA defined the IRS classes to be subject to central clearing following an analysis of all IRS classes which are currently offered for clearing by European CCPs. ESMA’s draft RTS propose to subject the following four classes: Basis swaps, fixed-to-float interest rate swaps, forward rate agreements and overnight index swaps on a range of currencies and maturities. The clearing obligation will take effect following a phased implementation depending on the types of counterparties.