ESMA

  • EMIR Article 7d Reporting: The New Third-Country CCP Return

    ESMA opened a consultation on 18 August 2026 on the technical standards that turn EMIR Article 7d into a working return, and comments close on 12 October 2026. Article 7d, added to EMIR by Regulation (EU) 2024/2987 (EMIR 3), requires clearing members and clients that clear contracts through a central counterparty recognised under Article 25…

  • Commodity Derivatives Position Reporting: ESMA’s 3 September Go-Live

    On 14 August 2026 ESMA confirmed that the reworked weekly commodity derivatives position reporting framework goes live on 3 September 2026. From that date, an investment firm or market operator operating an EU trading venue whose relevant contract is subject to the Article 58 weekly-reporting obligation must submit the weekly report to ESMA using the…

  • EMIR Bilateral Margin: The Draft RTS Releasing Initial Margin

    On 3 August 2026 the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority, acting together as the ESAs, sent the European Commission a final report and a set of draft regulatory technical standards that rewrite one paragraph of the EMIR bilateral margin requirements. The paragraph is…

  • Guarantees as CCP Collateral: What ESMA’s Draft RTS Changes

    On 23 February 2026 ESMA opened a consultation (paper reference ESMA91-1505572268-4513) on the draft regulatory technical standards that set the conditions for using guarantees as CCP collateral at an EU central counterparty. The consultation closed on 30 April 2026. The subject is narrow on paper and wide in practice: the draft RTS amends Commission Delegated…

  • EMIR 3 Clearing Thresholds: The New Uncleared and Aggregate Test

    The number that decides whether a firm falls inside the EU clearing obligation is about to be measured differently. Under EMIR 3, Regulation (EU) 2024/2987, the EMIR 3 clearing thresholds stop asking how much a counterparty trades over the counter and start asking how much it leaves uncleared. On 25 February 2026 ESMA published its…

  • ESMA CAFI Guidelines: When a Crypto-Asset Is a Financial Instrument

    On 17 December 2024 the European Securities and Markets Authority published its Final Report and, in Annex III, the Guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments, reference ESMA75453128700-1323. That document, often shortened to the CAFI Guidelines, addresses whether a crypto-asset qualifies as a financial instrument and is therefore…

  • EU T+1 Settlement: First Deadline Is 7 December 2026

    The European Union will move to a T+1 securities settlement cycle on 11 October 2027. ESMA identifies 7 December 2026 as the first regulatory deadline for allocations and confirmations. The European Commission adopted the amending Delegated Regulation on 6 July 2026 as C(2026) 4640 final; it is currently under scrutiny by the European Parliament and…

  • MiFID II Triangular Passporting: ESMA’s July 2026 Supervisory Briefing

    On 7 July 2026 ESMA published a supervisory briefing on triangular passporting under MiFID II (reference ESMA35-243228190-8065), and the CSSF relayed it to Luxembourg professionals in a communique dated 17 July 2026. Triangular passporting is the arrangement where an authorised investment firm serves clients in one Member State through a branch or tied agent it…

  • MiFIR DPE Notification: Luxembourg’s Publishing Entity Filing

    On 13 July 2026 the CSSF published its MiFIR DPE notification template, a short XLSX form that Luxembourg credit institutions and investment firms use to apply for designated publishing entity (DPE) status under Article 21a of MiFIR. The form is the point at which a firm formally tells its national regulator that it is willing…

  • ESMA Risk Management Function CSA: The 2026-2027 Supervisory Review

    On 3 July 2026, ESMA told every UCITS management company and alternative investment fund manager in the European Union that their risk management function is next in line for coordinated scrutiny. The announcement launched a Common Supervisory Action, an exercise ESMA will run with national competent authorities throughout 2026 and 2027, with a final report…