Brussels, 04/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to extend the transitional period during which banks exposed to central counterparties (CCPs) of third countries with legislation not in line with European law will not be subject to additional capital requirements from 15 June to 15 December 2015.
“The decision will give the market the legal certainty it needs for the next six months”, the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Jonathan Hill, commented in a press release on Thursday 4 June. He pledged to continue to “work hard on solving the underlying issues” (see EUROPE 11216).
This extra time will be used to seek an agreement with the United States, as negotiations are still at deadlock. At the end of 2014, the Commission judged that the legislation of four third countries (Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore) governing the activities of CCPs were equivalent to the laws in force in the EU (see EUROPE 11188).
This Friday, the Commission will give pension funds an extra two years until the obligation to centrally clear their off-exchange or over-the-counter derivatives contracts kicks in (see EUROPE 11245). (Mathieu Bion)