“Derivatives Regulation (EMIR) should be all derivatives, not OTC” – Sharon Bowles MEP

Sharon Bowles MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has put competition at the heart of her 159 amendments to the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which seeks to regulate OTC derivatives, trade repositories and Central Counter Parties (CCPs) by extending the scope of the regulation to all derivatives.

Sharon also put forward amendments to ensure that interoperability for cash securities remains a part of the proposal, as well as providing alternative solutions for pension funds - if pension funds and some other specialist funds are not appropriately addressed in the Regulation it could substantially reduce returns to investors.

Sharon Bowles MEP said:

"Many, if not most, OTC derivatives will move on to exchanges or other platforms, so unless the Regulation is extended to all derivatives we will be left wondering why we bothered. It also makes sense to have the full picture of derivatives reported to repositories.

"Pension funds and real estate funds do not have the type of investments that lend themselves to posting collateral. This problem may be solved in the future but until then they should not be penalised for robust alternative arrangements.

"Similarly, we need to examine whether FX is better dealt with at the settlement stage."

ENDS

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