What Is Delegated Reporting for OTC Derivatives?
After 21 October 2024, firms can continue to delegate their reporting, however the safe harbour provisions have been mostly removed from the ASIC rules. This means that firms will need to implement greater monitoring and reconciliations of their ASIC trade reporting. ASIC has advised there will be further consultation on these provisions prior to the new rules coming into place however at this stage it is not clear if the position will move back closer to the current state in time.
We encourage firms to build an understanding of how to conduct regular reconciliations and monitoring. TRAction have compiled resources for both clients and non-clients to assist with this process.
Prior to 21 October 2024 (the commencement of the new ASIC trade reporting rules), a reporting entity received a safe harbour benefit when it appointed one or more persons (each a delegate) to report OTC derivatives on its behalf. This delegate may be a counterparty, a central counterparty, a trading platform, a service provider, a broker or any other third party.
What are the Safe Harbour benefits?
| Previously (2022 Rules) | Current – ASIC Rewrite (2024 Rules) |
| You were taken to have complied with your reporting obligations in relation to each reportable transaction and reportable position for which your delegate has been appointed to report, subject to certain conditions. | From 21 October 2024, there is no regulatory benefits or relief associated with delegating your OTC derivative transaction reporting. However, firms may still find appointing a third party specialist firm or their counterparty to conduct the reporting on their behalf to be cost and resource efficient. |
What are the conditions?
| Previously (2022 Rules) | Current – ASIC Rewrite (2024 Rules) |
| You could only benefit from the safe harbour provisions available under the previous rules if: 1. the terms of the delegate’s appointment and any related agreements or arrangements are documented in writing; 2. you make regular enquiries reasonably designed to determine whether your delegate is discharging its obligations under the terms of its appointment; and 3. you remain responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure the completeness, accuracy and currency of the information reported by your delegate. | There is no safe harbour provisions or benefits available. |
Can I delegate reporting to multiple delegates?
| Previously (2022 Rules) | Current – ASIC Rewrite (2024 Rules) |
| Yes, you can and you can also rely on the safe harbour provision if all the above conditions are satisfied with each delegate. Where you delegated to multiple delegates, you needed to ensure that each OTC derivative transaction you enter into is covered by one of the delegation agreements. Where particular transactions were not covered by a delegation agreement, the reporting entity remained responsible for reporting these transactions in accordance with the Reporting Rules. | Yes, you can. Where you delegate to multiple delegates, you will need to ensure that each OTC derivative transaction you enter into is covered by one of the delegation agreements. Where particular transactions are not covered by a delegation agreement, the reporting entity will remain responsible for reporting these transactions in accordance with the Reporting Rules. |
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
