On 19 February 2016, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an update of its Public Register for the Clearing Obligation.

The update concerns the so-called category 1 clearing members, which are either financial counterparties or non-financial counterparties above the clearing threshold who are clearing members of a central clearinghouse (CCP).  Category 1 firms will be the first firms to start the central clearing of certain types of derivative contracts by 21 June 2016.
ESMA has worked with national competent authorities and CCPs to facilitate the identification of those Category 1 counterparties. All EU CCPs and third-country CCPs which are authorised or recognised to clear OTC interest rate swaps in the G4 currencies have now published on their websites the lists of their Category 1 clearing members in a common format. With today’s updated list, ESMA is providing the links in an updated version of the Public Register for the Clearing Obligation, Section 1.3.

ESMA’s first RTS on the clearing obligation, which establish that certain OTC interest rate derivatives denominated in the G4 currencies (i.e. EUR, GBP, JPY and USD) shall be cleared by central counterparties, entered into force on 21 December 2015.