EMIR Refit is set to come into force in the UK from 30 September 2024, with the goal of increasing transparency, accuracy and efficiency in derivatives transaction reporting. eflow Global’s Ben Parker spoke to Global Trading about the dangerous lack of preparation his firm has seen across the industry.
“Just two weeks before the EU’s EMIR Refit deadline on 29th April, an Italian firm expected a compliant solution to be implemented from scratch,” Ben Parker, CEO and founder of eflow Global, told Global Trading. “While it’s encouraging that firms are seeking technological solutions to navigate regulatory changes, it’s concerning that they even believed this could be accomplished within the given timeframe.”
In order to prevent the same situation happening in the UK, with EMIR Refit coming into force from 30 September, eflow Global has launched the EMIR Refit Readiness Audit. Through a 30-minute consultation, the regtech firm hopes to help businesses understand how they need to prepare for new requirements.
The new regulation includes 89 new data fields and formats, revised reporting templates and enhanced data quality requirements. According to eflow, clients’ particular pain points include the shift to an XML reporting format and how to interact with the new unique product identifier (UPI) field. A lack of preparation to deal with these changes will only result in fines.
The rollout seen in the EU cannot be repeated in the UK, Parker warned. “Whether it is a laissez-faire attitude to the potential consequences of these regulations, misplaced trust in legacy systems or just simply not understanding the task at hand, it is a trend that is in desperate need of changing.”
He concluded: “Ultimately, UK firms have been granted a rare gift with EMIR Refit: the benefit of hindsight. As the September deadline approaches, it’s crucial for UK firms to learn from the experiences of EU companies and avoid similar pitfalls.”
©Markets Media Europe 2024
