On December 4, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a press release announcing details of its ‘cutover plan’ for firms transferring to the FCA Financial Instruments Transparency System (FCA FITRS) and FCA Financial Instruments Reference Data System (FCA FIRDS) upon Brexit (the Press Release).
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On November 23, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report on regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the risk mitigation techniques for OTC derivative contracts not cleared by central counterparties detailing bilateral margin requirements under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) (the Report).
Continue Reading ESMA Publishes Final Report on EMIR RTS Clearing Obligation Regarding Intragroup Transactions and Novations From UK to EU Counterparties

On November 25, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement regarding the impact on the derivatives trading obligation (DTO) under Article 28 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (600/2014) (MiFIR) following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on December 31 (the Statement).
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On November 6, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper on draft guidelines on obligations regarding market data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) (the Consultation Paper).
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On November 6, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its guidance on the Annex to its opinion determining transparency for third-country trading venues under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (the Guidance).
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On November 9, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a decision of its board of supervisors (held on November 5) on the delegation to the ESMA chair of the assessment of third-country trading venues (TCTVs) under Articles 20 and 21 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (the Decision).
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On November 4, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a statement regarding its approach to the UK share trading obligation (STO) after the end of the Brexit transition period.
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On October 30, the European Commission (the Commission) published a letter from John Berrigan (the Commission’s Director General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) to the European Securities and Markets Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the European Banking Authority (jointly the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs)) regarding a delay to the implementation of detailed subordinate rules under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR or Disclosure Regulation) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (the Letter).
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On October 22, the European Commission (Commission) launched its formal public consultation (Consultation) on its review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).

The Consultation follows the Commission’s June 10 report on the application and scope of the AIFMD (see the June 12, 2020 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest) and aims to achieve a more efficient, effective and competitive European market for alternative investment funds (AIFs) as a part of a stable financial system. The Consultation also notes that it may result in adjustments the existing European mutual fund rules (UCITS).
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On October 26, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on December 31, relating to the requirement for EU investment firms only to trade shares on an EU trading venue, with an EU systemic internalizer or on an equivalent third-country exchange (known as the share trading obligation or STO) under Article 23 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (the Statement).
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