ESMA Details Plans for No-Deal EMIR Reporting Post-Brexit

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA ) on Friday released a ten-page document discussing EMIR reporting standards if the UK leaves the European Union (EU) with no deal.

The (potentially) good news for compliance-hating financial services employees is that, if the UK does leave the EU without a deal, then UK counterparties would not be mandated to report under EMIR to EU27 Trade Repositories (TRs).

In fact, if the UK does leave without a deal, almost none of the requirements that British firms had to adhere when the country was in the EU will apply anymore. For instance, firms will not have to reconcile any EMIR data if a no-deal Brexit occurs.

FCA joins in

For its part, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also released a statement this Friday discussing what firms will have to do once Brexit happens.

The British regulator said that it has launched a conversion regime for TRs based in the UK but who have ESMA registration. TRs in that position, who want to remain in the UK, can join the conversion regime to ensure that they still have a presence in Britain after Brexit takes place.

For firms that are UK legal entities, which are part of the same group as a TR with ESMA registration, there will be a temporary registration regime. Again, the purpose of this is, along with highlighting that the FCA will be regulating them, to ensure that those TRs have a presence in the UK if a no-deal Brexit occurs.