On September 28, 2015, ESMA published a final report and final draft RTS and ITS on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on Central Securities Depositories requirements. This follows from ESMA's previously published discussion paper and consultation paper which sought views on the proposed technical standards. The final report sets out the feedback received from the consultation paper and ESMA's proposed changes to the RTS and ITS on CSD as well as the RTS and ITS on internalized settlement. The two final draft standards on CSDs cover: (i) the authorization and identification requirements for applicant CSDs, including forms and templates for CSDs applying for authorization; (ii) recognition of a third-country CSD; (iii) risk monitoring rules that a CSD must establish; (iv) record keeping; and (v) general requirements for cooperation arrangements between regulators in home and host member states. The two final draft standards on internalized settlement cover: (i) templates and procedures for the reporting and transmission of information on internalized settlements; and (ii) specifications for the content of reporting on internalized settlements. The RTS on settlement discipline will become available later in a separate report, as ESMA still needs to review responses received to its more recent consultation on the operation of the buy-in process. ESMA will submit the final draft RTS and ITS to the European Commission for endorsement.
The final report and technical standards are available at: http://www.esma.europa.eu/news/ESMA-readies-MiFID-II-MAR-and-CSDR?t=326&o=home.
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