Ireland: Are You EMIR-Reporting Ready? Material Reporting Changes Take Effect On 29 April 2024

EMIR derivatives must be reported by in-scope transacting parties to an eligible trade repository (TR). Revised EMIR technical standards on TRs and the information to be reported to them were published in the Official Journal on 7 October 2022. Priority matters for firms are the regulatory technical standards and implementing technical standards on reporting to TRs, together with related ESMA guidance, which take effect on 29 April 2024. With less than 4 months to go, it is important that your firm is getting ready and engaging with its TR or (where your firm has delegated reporting or EMIR requires another entity to report for you) reporting entity.

Summary of changes

• Form of reports to be in XML: Reports to a TR must be in XML format and TRs should use XML messages, each in accordance with ISO 20022 methodology. Firms (or their reporting delegates) will need to ensure that they can both report and review reports in this machine-readable format.
• Reports to be more detailed: There is a material increase in the number of data fields.
• Reporting to be updated: Reports already submitted on existing transactions will need to be updated for the new reporting standards. There is a transition period until 26 October 2024 to facilitate this. By 26 October 2024, reports on transactions outstanding on 26 April 2024 must be updated for the new standards (unless those reports are otherwise modified / corrected before that date in accordance with the new standards, or unless the transaction matures / is terminated during the transition period).
• FCs must ensure they have NFC- counterparty data: Since EMIR Refit, an EU financial counterparty (FC) has been required under EMIR to report on behalf of any counterparty which is a non-financial counterparty below the clearing threshold (NFC-). From 29 April 2024, FCs must have arrangements in place with their NFC- counterparties to obtain the counterparty data of the NFC- which the FC needs to report. In addition, the FC must ensure that the NFC- maintains its LEI.
• Responsibility for generating unique transaction identifiers (UTIs): The implementing technical standards on reporting to TRs set out criteria for determining the entity that is responsible for generating the UTI (to avoid double-counting the same derivative).
• Self-reporting requirement for material errors and omissions: The entity that is legally responsible for reporting must notify the Central Bank of Ireland (or other national competent authority if the entity's NCA is not the Central Bank) of material errors or omissions in reporting. Where the reporting entity is also responsible for another party's reporting (e.g. an EU FC in the case of an NFC- counterparty) the reporting entity must also notify the NCA of that other entity.

The new self-reporting obligation, coupled with the Central Bank's recent EMIR reporting breach enforcement action and its February 2019 industry letter (the latter focused heavily on issued identified by the Central Bank in respect of delegated reporting, completeness and accuracy of trade reporting, LEIs and UTIs) emphasise the importance of compliance with EMIR reporting requirements. The Central Bank expects EMIR reporting compliance to be a standing agenda item at board meetings, and in-scope firms should pay particular attention to the changes that will be needed to policies and procedures to ensure that the upcoming requirements are met, with appropriate oversight in place.

This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.