News 31/01/25

AFM and DNB provide guidance on EMIR 3

The revised European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR 3) came into force at the end of last year. This European regulation aims to further strengthen the transparency, safety and stability of the European financial markets. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) are designated as competent authorities for EMIR. The AFM and DNB have drawn up guidance to support institutions in implementing new and amended requirements.

In short

Active account with European central counterparty mandatory
Notification of active account to European and national regulator
Guidelines for initial margin models

Active account with European central counterparty mandatory

One of the new topics under EMIR 3 is the requirement for institutions that hold positions in certain interest rate derivatives to open and maintain an active account with a European central counterparty. The aim of the introduction of the active account is to reduce dependency on third-country central counterparties and to strengthen the efficiency of the EU derivatives settlement markets.

Notification of active account to European and national regulator

Institutions that meet the criteria for the active account under EMIR 3 must send a notification to the European regulator ESMA as well as to the AFM or DNB. Banks, insurance companies and pension funds must send the notification to DNB. Other MiFID firms and non-financial institutions must send the notification to the AFM. The template that institutions can use for this is included as a link in the guidance.

Guidelines on initial margin models, clearing and transparency

EMIR 3 requires counterparties to apply for authorization and validation of the model used for initial margin calculation. There are also guidelines for reporting on clearing outside the European Union and the provision of information by settlement platforms. More information about this is included in the guidance.