28 August 2020

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today published a final report on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) definitively postponing the date of entry into force of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 (RTS on settlement discipline) until 1 February 2022.

This postponement is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of regulatory projects and IT deliveries by Central Securities Depositaries and a wide range of market participants and follows a request  from the European Commission (EC).

The measure is additional to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1212, based on ESMA’s proposal to amend the RTS on settlement discipline to postpone its date of entry into force from 13 September 2020 to 1 February 2021.

The RTS on settlement discipline cover measures to prevent and address settlement fails including:

  • rules for the trade allocation and confirmation process;
  • cash penalties on failed transactions;
  • mandatory buy-ins; and
  • monitoring and reporting of settlement fails.

Next steps

Following the endorsement of the RTS by the EC, the Delegated Regulation will then be subject to the non-objection of the European Parliament and of the Council.