The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced this Monday that it has registered the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) UnaVista TRADEcho B.V. as a trade repository (TR) this Monday, with effect from March 25, 2019.
A trade repository or swap data repository is an entity that centrally collects and maintains the records of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. Based in the Netherlands, UnaVista TRADEcho B.V. will cover a range of asset classes - commodities, credit, foreign exchange (Forex ), equities and interest rates.
As per the European regulator: “TRs are commercial firms that centrally collect and maintain the records of derivatives contracts reported to them. The registration of a TR means that it can be used by counterparties to a derivative transaction to fulfil their trade reporting obligations under EMIR.”
The registration of UnaVista TRADEcho B.V. is part of the LSEG's contingency plan for a possible no-deal Brexit . Although the Brexit deadline has been extended, the future of the UK still remains in limbo.
Should the United Kingdom leave the European Union without a deal, the UK-based TR of UnaVista TRADEcho B.V., UnaVista Limited, will cease to be registered with ESMA and UnaVista TRADEcho B.V will be the TR of the LSEG in the EU.
Financial Firms Continue to Put Brexit Contingency Plans in Place
The LSEG is the latest financial institution to put Brexit contingency plans in place. As Finance Magnates previously reported, firms have been leasing offices throughout continental Europe, moving hundreds of staff out of London and have transferred billions of assets out of the UK.
Large financial institutions such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and France’s three largest banks, have all committed to moving hundreds of staff to other European financial hubs such as Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Milan, Stockholm and more.
Furthermore, financial regulators are also putting a series of plans in place. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently announced that more than 1,000 EU firms and fund managers had entered the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA companies that are currently passporting in the UK to continue to do so for a limited period while they seek full FCA authorization.
