On December 10, 2016, a Commission Implementing Regulation on the extension of the transitional periods related to own funds requirements for exposures to central counterparties set out in the Capital Requirements Regulation and European Market Infrastructure Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The authorization process for existing CCPs established in the European Union is complete but there are still third-country CCPs, notably some based in the US, that are awaiting recognition status. Without an extension of the transitional periods, banks and investment firms in the EU would need to increase their own funds requirements for their exposures to those CCPs that are not yet recognized. The implementing Regulation extends the transitional period by an additional six months to June 15, 2017.

The recent proposals to amend the CRR published by the European Commission include an amendment to these transitional provisions. The proposed amendment would remove the need for the European Commission to continuously extend the transitional period by basing the transitional deadline instead on the timing of an application for recognition by a third country CCP.

The Implementing Regulation is available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R2227&from=EN&_sm_au_=iVVTFktM4J1qvvjr .  

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