FESE supports EACH on EU margin standards

The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) supports the European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH) in their letter of concern about the implementation of EU margin standards under Chapter VI of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) supplementing EMIR.

We support EACH’s view that the EU’s overly prescriptive margin requirements, especially when compared to the more flexible U.S. Dodd-Frank framework, will result in unnecessarily high margin costs for cleared exchange-traded and OTC products in Europe. This divergence is not risk-based, as current margin models have proven resilient through major crises, including Lehman Brothers.

The resulting margin arbitrage could drive clearing activity from European CCPs to lower-cost U.S. DCOs, undermining EU financial stability, regulatory oversight, and the success of the European clearing mandate. We agree with EACH that implementation of the EU margin rules should be deferred until a globally consistent framework is established, and we join their call for urgent transatlantic regulatory coordination to avoid fragmentation and ensure a level playing field.