Maciej Trybuchowski, CEO of KDPW_CCP, provides an overview of the upcoming EMIR 3.0 regulation as market participants prepare for new active account requirements
Image: Maciej Trybuchowski
In order to increase the attractiveness and financial stability of EU clearing services, the European Commission is planning to introduce the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) 3.0 package. This will mandate entities trading over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives to open so-called active accounts (clearing accounts) in EU-authorised central counterparties (CCPs) for eligible instruments cleared in euro (EUR) and Polish złoty (PLN) — which have been recognised as products having systemic importance for the financial stability of the European Union.
The introduction of the requirement for market participants subject to the clearing obligation to maintain active accounts in CCPs based in the EU, is intended to mitigate the risks resulting from a disproportionate concentration of OTC derivatives being cleared by EU market participants in third-country CCPs and, as a result, to reduce the relatively high exposure to these CCPs.
EMIR 3.0
The EMIR 3.0 regulation is currently awaiting formal approval by the European Parliament. It will be published next in the Official Journal of the European Union — most likely in December 2024 — and 20 days following the official publication, the provisions of the EMIR 3.0 regulation will enter into force. However, six months later — and possibly around the beginning of the second half of 2025 — the specific requirement to have an active account (clearing account) with an authorised EU-based CCP will come into effect.
KDPW_CCP is an authorised CCP headquartered in the EU, which clears OTC derivatives in EUR and PLN. This is why we are actively encouraging those entities covered by the new obligation to ensure advance compliance with EMIR 3.0 and to open a clearing account well before the close of the deadline.
Active account under EMIR 3.0
The EMIR 3.0 regulation introduces the obligation for EU market participants, who clear certain OTC derivatives in EUR and PLN in third-country CCPs, to open an active account — ie, at least one clearing account — either directly or indirectly in an EU-authorised CCP.
Active accounts must meet the requirements set out in EMIR 3.0. Additional requirements for active accounts will be set out in the regulatory technical standards (RTS) to the new regulation. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will need to submit a draft RTS to the European Commission within six months of the entry into force of the EMIR 3.0 regulation.
The Commission will then approve the delegated regulations, translated into authorised separate languages (member states usually have three months to submit any comments). After voting on the provisions of these regulations, they will next be published in the EU Journal of Laws.
Who will be obliged to open an active account?
The obligation to hold an active account with an EU-authorised CCP — either directly or indirectly — applies both to financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties which:
• Are covered by the central clearing obligation;
• Are clearing members of a third-country CCP;
• Exceed the clearing threshold (Article 7a(6) of the regulation) for any of the instruments subject to the obligation to clear via an active account (interest rate derivatives denominated in EUR and PLN and short-term interest rate derivatives denominated in EUR).
If an entity is mandated to open an active account, it has six months from the date of becoming subject to the obligation to do so.
Entities subject to the new active account obligation are encouraged to ensure compliance with EMIR 3.0 well in advance.
Active accounts in KDPW_CCP
KDPW_CCP fully complies with the requirements for EU CCPs and clears OTC interest rate derivatives denominated in EUR and PLN which will be covered by the active account requirement. KDPW_CCP ensures the clearing of the following transactions in derivatives in PLN and EUR (interest rate derivatives):
• Forward rate agreements
• Interest rate swaps
• Overnight index swaps
• Swaps
KDPW_CCP offers new clearing members:
• Waiver of the 2025 registration fee for clearing participants (you save PLN 50,000; around €11,650).
• A participation fee — PLN 20,000 per year (around €4,660).
• Asset segregation.
• Standardised onboarding for EU market participants with no additional requirements.
• Simple set-up of an active account (clearing account).
• Communication via FpML and XML messages.
• Online access to the clearing system with the ability to view information on cleared derivatives and with the option to send and receive information to and from KDPW_CCP; free test environment and support in implementing test scenarios.
For more information visit our website
https://www.kdpwccp.pl/en/active-accounts.html
NO FEE, NO RISK 100% ON RETURNSIf you invest in only one securities finance news source this
year, make sure it is your free subscription to Securities Finance Times
Image: Maciej Trybuchowski 
