EMIR : A Landmark Regulation with far-reaching Impacts on the EU Derivatives Business

Frederic De-Brouwer, Senior Legal Counsel, Societe Generale

Frédéric de Brouwer’s overview of the European Infrastructure Market Regulation (“EMIR”) is both timely and particularly relevant to in-house counsel in financial services. The clearing and reporting requirements applied to OTC derivatives are examined including some transitional measures that the industry might need to take. Mr de Brouwer calls upon the EU to quickly reach similar regulatory agreements with other G20 countries following progress with the USA. Like the Dodd-Frank Act in the US, EMIR will largely reshape OTC derivatives markets in Europe. Beyond the costs of the reform, among others the requirement of collateral for non-cleared transactions, EMIR constitutes a major operational challenge for derivative markets actors: IT investment, adaptation of back and middle office processes, and important amendments to the legal documentation. As there are still a significant number of regulatory interpretation questions left unanswered, in-house lawyers are requested to validate some uncertain assumptions. They must also act beyond their usual role of advisers ; they have to demonstrate organization and project management skills, notably for the legal re-documentation phase of the project.

Read full paper Subscribe to the IICJ
France Regulation Banking & Finance January 2014 Vol. 7, No. 26, Winter 2014

Frederic De-Brouwer

More

Frédéric de Brouwer has been in Bank Regulatory Affairs for almost 15 years. Before joining SocGen in 2005 , he was Legal Counsel of the European Banking Federation, the organization representing banks in Brussels. He spent 4 years as Head of European Regulatory Affairs in SocGen and then became Head of Legal & Compliance in Tokyo and Deputy General Counsel Asia. He is now back in Paris and is the Lead Lawyer for the EMIR Project.

Societe Generale

More

Société Générale Group serves 22.5 million customers in France and worldwide. In France, the bank operates two complementary distribution networks, namely Société Générale and Crédit du Nord. Outside, its retail banking arm is present in 30 countries and overseas. Société Générale has a strong corporate & investment banking arm. It is one of the major European financial groups.

France Regulation Banking & Finance January 2014 Vol. 7, No. 26, Winter 2014