Federal Council extends transitional period for reporting of derivative transactions by small non-financial counterparties

The Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FinMIA), together with the associated ordinance, entered into force on 1 January 2016. Among other things, it regulates the organisation and operation of financial market infrastructures and market conduct concerning derivatives trading, including a reporting duty for derivative transactions. This reporting duty requires affected market players to report such transactions to central trade repositories. At present, the reporting duty already applies for financial counterparties (including banks and insurers) and certain non-financial counterparties. The duty would have come into force on 1 January 2019 for small non-financial counterparties (e.g. industrial companies).

During its meeting on 14 September 2018, the Federal Council decided to bring the derivative transactions reporting duty for small non-financial counterparties into effect on 1 January 2024 and to extend the corresponding transitional period. The corresponding amendment to the Federal Council's Financial Market Infrastructure Ordinance (FinMIO) will enter into force on 1 January 2019. The reporting duties already in force for other market participants are unaffected.

The Federal Council based its decision on the fact that the FinMIA is to be reviewed in the coming years. This is partly because we are already witnessing the emergence of international developments, e.g. in the European Union, and technological developments, e.g. in the fintech area, that could give rise to a revision of the FinMIA. The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) will work on reviewing the FinMIA from 2019. Against this backdrop, the reporting duty for small non-financial counterparties is to be postponed until this review – and any adjustment to the FinMIA – have been completed.

To the press release of The Federal Council