Understanding the EU’s approach to harmonised regulatory reporting

Abstract

Increasing transparency in financial markets became one of the key objectives of broader regulatory reform around the globe following the 2008 financial crisis. For the EU, this objective is mostly dealt with within the Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR) and Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 on market in financial instruments (MiFIR) regulations, whereby the detailed obligations to report derivative contracts and transactions in a broad set of financial instruments are respectively enshrined. Reporting is often seen as a burden by firms. However, regulators across the EU have put significant efforts into harmonising reporting regimes to the extent it was feasible under the individual sectoral legislation, ie EMIR and MiFIR. This paper explores the commonalities and differences in the two reporting regimes by also providing insights into how the harmonisation of their technical implementation is being achieved.