The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its final Report containing draft regulatory and implementing technical standards under the Benchmarks Regulation. The Benchmark Regulation sets out the authorization and registration requirements for benchmark administrators, including third-country entities, and the requirements for governance and control of administrators. It provides for different categories of benchmarks depending on the risks involved, imposes additional requirements on benchmarks considered to be "critical" and gives powers to national regulators to mandate, under certain conditions, contributions to or the administration of critical benchmarks.

The European Commission requested the Technical Advice from ESMA in February 2016. ESMA notes that the purpose of the draft RTS and ITS is to outline the behaviors and standards expected of administrators and contributors, so that financial benchmarks are produced in a transparent and reliable manner.

The final Report follows the consultation paper published by ESMA on September 29, 2016, which contained the first version of the draft technical standards. ESMA has submitted the final draft RTS to the European Commission, which now has three months to approve or reject them. The majority of the Benchmark Regulation will apply from January 1, 2018.

View the Report.