Summary
Under UK EMIR reporting, there is a field “execution agent” that is currently optional. After 26 January 2026, this execution agent field will become conditional. This means that if an execution agent is involved in a transaction, the LEI of the execution agent needs to be reported.
What is an Execution Agent?
“Agent” in general means a third party arranging something on your behalf. For instance, a real-estate agent arranges the purchase or sale of a house, but is neither the seller or the buyer.
In a similar vein, an execution agent, as defined in EMIR, arranges a derivative transaction on another firm’s behalf, but is not a counterparty to the transaction. It specifies the entity that executed the transaction on behalf of the counterparty and binds the counterparty to the terms of the transaction, but isn’t a broker.
The FCA added this field (and made it conditional) to gain additional transparency over how transactions are executed, and by whom.
What’s changing?
The execution agent field is one of the main differences between EU EMIR and UK EMIR. The execution agent field was included in UK EMIR from refit go live in September 2024 but has been optional. It becomes mandatory in cases where an execution agent is present. EU EMIR does not have the ‘Execution Agent’ at all.
The execution agent will also be included in Margin reports from 26 January 2026.
Can the counterparty to a trade also be the execution agent? Or is it always an independent third party?
In some cases, the firm chosen to act as an agent can decide to execute an order as principal. That is, it chooses to be counterparty to the trade. In this case, the executing firm would be populated in counterparty 2 instead of in the execution agent field.
See our previous articles on the execution agent field for more details:
FCA Makes the ‘Execution Agent’ Field Conditional under EMIR
How can TRAction assist?
If you need any assistance with your current trade reporting set up or are new to trade reporting and need to delegate to a trade reporting service provider, please do not hesitate to contact us.
