On March 30, the European Security Markets Authority (ESMA) published draft regulatory and implementing technical standards relating to EU Regulation 236/2012 on Short Selling and Certain Aspects of Credit Default Swaps passed by the European Council on February 12 (see the February 24, 2012 edition of Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest). The draft technical standards are subject to approval by the European Commission. They will apply from November 1, 2012 when the regulation comes into effect.

The technical standards deal with issues including the following:

  • Agreements, arrangements and measures that adequately ensure that relevant shares or sovereign debt instruments will be available for settlement.
     
  • Details of disclosable information on net short positions and the means for disclosure.
     
  • Determination of when a non-EU trading venue is the principal trading venue for a security in the context of the disclosure exemption set out in Article 16 of the Regulation.
     
  • Quarterly information to be provided to ESMA by European regulatory competent authorities.

A further technical standard, on the method of calculation of the fall in value of a financial instrument required under Article 24(8) of the Regulation, will be published later in April.

For more information, click here.