On 3 April 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a joint statement[1] announcing a one-year deferral of the September 2020 and September 2021 phase-ins of the global initial margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives.
Firms with an aggregate average notional amount (AANA) of uncleared derivatives exceeding EUR 50bn will now become subject to the initial margin requirements from 1 September 2021. Similarly, firms with an AANA of uncleared derivatives exceeding EUR 8bn will now become subject to the initial margin requirements from 1 September 2022. These changes have been reflected in the revised BCBS-IOSCO global initial margin standards[2].
The deferral intends to provide additional operational capacity for impacted firms to respond to the immediate challenges of coronavirus (Covid-19) and facilitate firms’ readiness to comply with the requirements by the revised deadline.
We welcome the BCBS-IOSCO statement on deferring the initial margin requirements by a year. We will be considering, together with other authorities, how to implement the changes.