{"id":460255,"date":"2026-03-06T06:52:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T06:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/460255\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T06:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T06:52:26","slug":"at-a-glance-what-will-the-revised-emir-clearing-thresholds-mean-for-you-commodities-derivatives-stock-exchanges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/460255\/","title":{"rendered":"At A Glance: What Will The Revised EMIR Clearing Thresholds Mean For You? – Commodities\/Derivatives\/Stock Exchanges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Gilmour\u2019s articles from Travers Smith LLP are most popular:<\/p>\n

Travers Smith LLP are most popular: <\/p>\n


\n within Environment topic(s) <\/p>\n

The EMIR clearing thresholds and calculation methodology are
\nbeing changed.<\/p>\n

On 25 February 2026, ESMA published the long-awaited final draft
\nregulatory technical standards on the revised clearing
\nthresholds.<\/p>\n

Below we outline all you need to know about the proposed changes
\n\u2013why they are important; what the new calculation
\nmethodologies are;the revised thresholds and how they differ from
\nthose proposed in ESMA’s earlier consultation; timelines for
\ncompliance; and whether firms will likely consider the changes
\nbeneficial.<\/p>\n

For a breakdown of the jargon, please see the definitions box at
\nthe bottom of the page.<\/p>\n


\nTimeline
\n
\nWhy is this important?
\n
\nWhat are the key changes for NFCs?
\n
\nWhat are the key changes for FCs?
\n
\nThe proposed clearing thresholds (measured in gross notional
\nvalue)
\n
\nDo counterparties need to conduct calculations on day 1 of the
\nrevised thresholds coming into force?
\n
\nAre the changes helpful to market participants? <\/p>\n

1. Timeline<\/p>\n

\"1752862a.jpg\"\/<\/p>\n

2. Why is this important?<\/p>\n

Optimised treatment under EMIR for market participants relies on
\ncounterparties remaining below the clearing thresholds.<\/p>\n

FCs and NFCs that exceed the clearing thresholds become subject
\nto the EMIR clearing obligation. NFCs which exceed the clearing
\nthresholds become subject to other EMIR obligations \u2013 most
\nimportantly, the obligation to exchange daily variation margin.<\/p>\n

Please note that these changes apply only to counterparties
\nwithin scope of EMIR. The equivalent clearing thresholds under UK
\nEMIR have not changed.<\/p>\n

3. What are the key changes for NFCs?<\/p>\n

Currently:<\/p>\n


\nWhen conducting clearing threshold calculations, NFCs include
\nnon-risk-reducing (“speculative”) over-the-counter
\n(“OTC”) derivatives transactions only.
\n
\nHedging transactions entered into to reduce risks relating to
\ncommercial or treasury financing activity of the NFC’s group
\nare excluded from these calculations.
\n
\nCalculations include the nominal values of speculative
\nderivatives transactions to which an NFC is the counterparty,
\nas well as those carried out by any other NFCs
\nwhich are in the same “group” as the NFC. <\/p>\n

Changes going forward:<\/p>\n


\nThe parameters of the hedging carve-out were helpfully, and
\nintentionally, unchanged \u2013 although ESMA had a mandate to
\nreconsider the conditions for this hedging carve-out, it elected
\nnot to change the existing criteria.
\n
\nCalculations will include only the nominal values of the
\nNFC’s speculative derivatives transactions which are not
\ncleared through an authorised CCP. Speculative transactions of
\nother group NFCs and any cleared speculative transactions
\nwill no longer be included. <\/p>\n

4. What are the key changes for FCs?<\/p>\n

Currently:<\/p>\n


\nWhen conducting clearing threshold calculations, FCs include
\nthe gross notional value of all OTC derivatives transactions
\n(regardless of whether they are speculative or risk-reducing)
\nentered into by the FC and other entities within the same
\n“group” as the FC. <\/p>\n

Changes going forward:<\/p>\n


\nFCs will be required to look at two measures when conducting
\nclearing threshold calculations:

\n
\nThe first is the uncleared positions of the FC and all entities
\nin its group.

\n
\n
\nThe second measure is the aggregate of its cleared and
\nuncleared OTC derivatives entered by the FC or entities in its
\ngroup.

\n
\n
\n
\n
\nExceeding either of these thresholds will trigger the clearing
\nobligation. <\/p>\n

5. The proposed clearing thresholds (measured in gross notional
\nvalue)<\/p>\n

\"1752862b.jpg\"\/<\/p>\n

6. Do counterparties need to conduct calculations on day 1 of
\nthe revised thresholds coming into force?<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

ESMA has confirmed that counterparties do not need to run the
\nrevised clearing threshold calculations on the day of entry into
\nforce of the RTS \u2013 counterparties can recalculate their
\npositions, based on the new methodology, at the time of the year
\nthey usually do so. For many market participants, this will be in
\nJune.<\/p>\n

For counterparties that wish to conduct revised calculations
\nearlier, this remains an option. Counterparties are able to re-do
\ntheir calculation earlier than the standard twelve months (and then
\nagain every twelve months).<\/p>\n

7. Are the changes helpful to market participants?<\/p>\n

This will be fact dependent.<\/p>\n

For market participants trading predominantly FX out of EU NFCs,
\nthese changes are very likely to be favourable and simplify annual
\nEMIR clearing threshold calculations.<\/p>\n

However, for market participants which:<\/p>\n


\nTrade out of FCs; or
\n
\nTrade out of UK entities (noting that UK EMIR clearing
\nthreshold calculations have not changed); or
\n
\nTrade with UK banks (which typically require a representation
\nas to the counterparty’s UK EMIR classification), <\/p>\n

these changes may add another complication.<\/p>\n

As always with regulatory changes, there are potential routes to
\nfurther optimisation. To understand how these changes may impact
\nyour structures, please reach out to one of our team members.<\/p>\n

\"1752862c.jpg\"\/<\/p>\n

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonathan Gilmour\u2019s articles from Travers Smith LLP are most popular: Travers Smith LLP are most popular: within…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-460255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}