EUROPE - The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) expect Brussels to set a new deadline for the publication of the joint draft regulatory technical standards on risk mitigation techniques for OTC derivatives not cleared by a central counterparty (CCP) after they called on the Commission to review its timetable. 

Following a request made by the ESAs - which comprise the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) - last month, the Commission has now recognised the need to postpone the publication of such standards due to the fact that "the present deadline is inconsistent with the achievement of a global approach".

Under the plan originally set by the Commission, stakeholders were invited to respond to the consultation paper on the regulatory and implementation of technical standards for OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories before 2 April this year.

The responses received by the three authorities would have then enabled the ESAs to prepare draft technical standards to be included in the consultation paper of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) this summer in the view to implement the regulation before year-end.

However, ESMA, EBA and EIOPA sent a request to the EC last month to postpone the publication of those standards, arguing that greater consistency of the European rules should be implemented. 

They said: "The rationale behind the request is to enable consistency of the European rules with the on-going global development of international standards by the working group on margining requirements of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which are expected to be delivered by end 2012."

The current deadline to deliver the joint draft regulatory technical standards is 30 September 2012.

"A new timetable should be set by the Commission once the present deadline has expired,"  the authorities said.

Several market participants and pension consultants already argued that the implementation of the regulation would be unlikely to take place before year-end.

Talking to IPE earlier this month, Ben Gunnee, European director at Mercer Sentinel Group, said: "The chances that market participants will be prepared before year-end for the arrival of EMIR are slim."

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