MFA and AIMA Submit Letter to ESMA on EMIR Clearing Obligation

The Managed Funds Association ("MFA") and the Alternative Investment Management Association ("AIMA") submitted a joint letter to the European Securities Markets Authority ("ESMA") in response to its paper on the clearing obligation under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation ("EMIR").In the letter, the MFA and AIMA said that the types of derivatives contracts which should be subject to mandatory clearing in Europe generally should be of the same type that are subject to mandatory clearing in the United States. The MFA and AIMA also generally opposed a phase-in of the EMIR clearing obligation that would require certain types of parties to go first (arguing that everyone should be subject to the clearing requirement at the same time). Finally, the trade associations opposed the possible retroactive application of the clearing obligation to trades already negotiated.

See: MFA/AIMA Letter; MFA Press Release. See also: ESMA Seeks Public Comment on Prepared Standards for OTC Clearing Obligation (July 15, 2013); ESMA Discussion Paper.