ESMA CCP Chair Outlines EU Clearing Priorities on EMIR 3, DORA, and Resilience

Key Takeaways

• In a keynote at PostTrade 360°, Klaus Löber, Chair of the ESMA CCP Supervisory Committee, set out ESMA's post-trade agenda: EMIR 3 active account implementation, margin and anti-procyclicality work, stress testing, CSD integration, DORA implementation, and simplification without deregulation.
• The speech is not binding, but it signals supervisory priorities that clearing members, CCPs, CSDs, and reporting entities should anticipate in their compliance and resilience planning.

Deep Dive

The speech introduces no new rules, deadlines, or penalties. It is a statement of supervisory direction, and compliance teams should read it as a guide to where ESMA will focus attention. Its central message is that clearing, settlement, reporting, and operational resilience are strategic and financial stability issues. ESMA frames its approach as a balance between openness and resilience, innovation and safety, and integration and accountability.

On CCP matters, Löber called EMIR 3 central to EU clearing policy. The active account requirement is intended to ensure that EU participants keep meaningful operational capacity and activity at EU CCPs for selected services, reducing excessive reliance on third-country infrastructure. He stressed that implementation will need careful calibration and continued dialogue with market participants, and that it is not meant to disrupt markets or add unnecessary costs. He also reaffirmed that margin models must be transparent, predictable, and risk-sensitive, and must cover extreme but plausible conditions. Anti-procyclicality tools should reduce cliff effects without weakening risk coverage. ESMA CCP stress tests, covering market shocks, liquidity stress, concentration, and operational scenarios, will remain a key tool. No specific dates were given.

On operational resilience, Löber described DORA as a board-level, supervisory, and systemic matter, and said implementation will matter more than the legal text. ESMA expects credible testing, realistic scenarios, senior management accountability, and demonstrated capacity to continue critical functions under stress. Third-party and concentration risk, including cloud and AI providers, are named as defining issues, as is the preparation needed for the transition to quantum-safe cryptography. Other themes include CSD settlement discipline and cross-border consistency under CSDR, usable and proportionate trade reporting, and tokenization and DLT, where experimentation is acceptable only if legal certainty and finality are preserved. He also described simplification as making rules more effective and less duplicative, not as lowering standards. Supervision will be risk-based, with less burden where risk is low or information is duplicative and more focus where risk is material, cross-border, or systemic. Löber also pointed to the Savings and Investments Union and the Market Integration Package, and to possible expansion of ESMA's direct supervision "where the legislator so decides."

Recommended actions: - Map exposure to EMIR 3 active account requirements and assess operational capacity at EU CCPs. - Review margin and liquidity stress assumptions, including procyclicality effects. - Test DORA readiness through scenario-based exercises, board reporting, and third-party concentration and exit-strategy reviews. - Add AI, cloud, and quantum-readiness considerations to the ICT risk framework. - Review the quality and usability of trade reporting data. - Monitor ESMA consultations and technical standards for further detail.

Impact is moderate and indirect, but it is a useful indicator of supervisory expectations for clearing members, CCPs, CSDs, and critical ICT providers.

Source: European Securities and Markets Authority