FRANCE: AMF Launches Public Consultation on Reporting by Investment Service Providers in Agricultural Derivatives

Wednesday January 21 2015

The Authorite des Marche Financiers (AMF) has launched a consultation which is aimed at investment service providers and stipulates amendments to Book III of the AFM General Regulation.

The Consultation makes the following proposals:

Position Limits– An investment service provider is not allowed to acquire contracts in excess of AMF-prescribed thresholds where the underlying asset is an agricultural raw material. The rules are proposed to apply to financial instruments:

• Admitted to trading on a regulated market or traded on a multilateral trading facility, established in France,
• Whose trades are cleared by a clearing house .

Setting Limits– For future contracts reaching maturity, the position limit will be applied to any position on the purchase or sale from the 12th business day preceding its maturity and the actual date of maturity. Position limits will vary depending on the date of maturity, but below is an example of what is proposed where the contract is 12 days off maturity:

Milling wheat- 4,000

Rapeseed- 2,400

Corn- 2,000

Malting Barley- 2,000

Rapeseed oil- 3,000

Rapeseed meal- 3,000

Declaration and Published Positions– Requirements: a daily declaration and a weekly reported to be reported to the AMF.

Reporting

In addition, the Consultation sets out reporting requirements. The AMF is required to publish aggregated reports position limits on a weekly basis. This report will document any change in position limits by comparing the current weekly report to the preceding report.

The consultation is open until 27th February 2015. Responses can be submitted to directiondelacommunication@amf-france.org

Click on the above link for further information.