EUROPEAN UNION: ESMA publishes consultation on its draft RTS to implement the Benchmarks Regulation

Thursday September 29 2016

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published Consultation Paper 2016/1406 (CP) regarding its draft regulatory and implementing technical standards (RTS/ITS) which will implement the Benchmarks Regulation. ESMA is asking stakeholders to comment on its proposed RTS/ITS applicable to benchmark contributors, administrators and national competent authorities.

The key provisions of ESMA’s draft RTS/ITS include the following:

• procedures, characteristics and positioning of the oversight function;
• appropriateness and verifiability of input data;
• transparency of methodologies applied;
• governance and control requirements for supervised contributors;
• provisions for significant/non-significant benchmarks; and
• provisions for recognition by third country administrators.

Responses to the CP must reach ESMA by 2nd December 2016 and should be submitted in the format prescribed by ESMA, available at this link.

ESMA will consider the responses to the CP, and will finalise the draft technical standards in order to submit them to the European Commission before 1st April 2017.

Click on the above link to view the ESMA Consultation Paper.