FIA Urges SEC to Finalize Rules for "Covered Clearing Agencies"

The Futures Industry Association ("FIA") urged the SEC to prioritize the finalization of enhanced standards for systemically important and security-based swap clearing agencies ("covered clearing agencies") in order to avoid potential market disruptions.

In a recent letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, FIA warned the SEC that delaying the rulemaking could have the following effects:

• clearing agencies located in the EU would be unable to access covered clearing agencies regulated by the SEC and could be subject to punitive capital requirements under the European Capital Requirements Regulation ("CRR");

• additional delays would prevent the SEC regime from being deemed equivalent under EMIR ("European Market Infrastructure Regulation"), a step that is necessary for the recognition of all third-country central counterparties ("CCPs") under EMIR; and

• the delay could have significant capital impact on clearing firms that were subject to CRR and continued to clear on non-recognized CCPs until a transitional period under EMIR expired, at which point they no longer would be allowed to access non-recognized third-country CCPs.