OSC postpones dissemination date for OTC derivatives trade reporting

The amendments will push back the public dissemination of derivatives data to Jan. 16, 2017. This gives the industry more time to comply with other changes to the rule, including amendments that eliminate reporting obligations for trades between affiliated firms (although trades involving derivatives dealers, or clearing agencies, and their affiliates still must be reported).

When public reporting of trade data does start early next year, it will be subject to a 48 hour delay and other measures designed to preserve the anonymity of the firms involved in the trades (such as rounding and capping the reported size of trades).

“These amendments are intended to effectively protect counterparties and maintain fairness in the market,” says Kevin Fine, director of the OSC’s derivatives branch in a statement accompanying the final rule.

“With regards to the public dissemination of transaction-level data, we have sought to balance the benefits of post-trade transparency against the need for appropriate anonymity to support market participants’ ability to hedge risk,” he adds.

In its notice setting out the final rule, the OSC indicates that it intends to study public data reporting and to consider whether additional data, and product types, should also be publicly disseminated, and whether the publication delay can be reduced. Additionally, the OSC will also continue to study inter-affiliate derivatives transactions, and international regulators’ approaches to these sorts of trades.

The OSC worked with the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (CSA) Derivatives Committee on these changes, with the aim of harmonizing provincial rules, the notice says, and regulators in Quebec and Manitoba are publishing similar amendments to their trade reporting rules.

Pending ministerial approval, the amendments will come into force on July 29.