Regulatory and Market Updates from Cappitech

EU/Europe

In June 2025, ESMA launched its Call for Evidence on the simplification of financial transaction reporting covering EMIR, MiFIR and SFTR to address the current issues arising from overlapping reporting obligations. ESMA confirmed that it will not pursue short‑term amendments to RTS 22, RTS 23 or RTS 24 under MiFIR while this strategic work continues.

The Interim Report published on 4 May 2026 highlighted majority stakeholder support for a phased approach, with a “report once” target model (Option 2a), while identifying Option 1a, based on a delineation of reporting obligations by instrument within the existing frameworks, as the most pragmatic short‑term solution. ESMA is expected to submit the Final Report, including recommendations and the cost‑benefit analysis, to the European Commission and publish it in July.

EMIR Refit Phase 2 reconciliation went live on 27 April 2026, significantly expanding the number of fields subject to reconciliation. This marked a key operational milestone and reinforced the need for robust data quality controls and ongoing remediation efforts.

United Kingdom – FCA and Bank of England

The FCA published CP25/32 in November 2025, proposing a simplified UK MiFIR transaction reporting regime and articulating the FCA and Bank of England’s longer‑term strategy for harmonizing reporting across UK MiFIR, UK EMIR and UK SFTR.

The proposals include a reduction in reportable data fields, the removal of EU‑only instruments, the exclusion of FX derivatives, the replacement of the existing transmission mechanism with a simplified conditional single‑sided reporting model, and a shortening of the back‑reporting period from five to three years.

The consultation closed in February 2026, with a Policy Statement expected in the autumn of 2026 and an indicative 18-month implementation period. On 2 April 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England together announced the establishment of the Transaction and Post‑trade Reporting Harmonization Taskforce, and jointly invited expressions of interest from industry participants.

Updated UK EMIR technical standards and Q&A went live in January 2026, focusing on practical reporting clarifications. Additionally, the FCA published an update to the UK EMIR Validation Rules on 16 April 2026, clarifying the application of reconciliation requirements ahead of their 28 September 2026 effective date. The update confirms a fixed go‑live date for the expanded Phase 2 reconciliation fields, removes the Name of the Underlying Index from reconciliation scope, and aligns Report Tracking Number (RTN) validation with existing UK EMIR guidance.

United States – CFTC

Following the comprehensive rewrite of swap data reporting rules, the CFTC is now focused on data accuracy and error correction.

In December 2025, the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight issued a no‑action letter providing targeted relief from certain error‑correction obligations under Parts 43 and 45 of the swap data reporting rules. The relief focuses on reducing burdens for historical and non‑critical data corrections while maintaining accuracy for key identifiers.

Supervisory attention is now firmly on governance, reconciliation and timely remediation of reporting issues.

Canada – Canadian Securities Administrators

Canadian CDE-aligned derivatives trade reporting amendments became effective in July 2025. With the revised framework operational, regulatory focus has shifted toward interpretative guidance.

In January 2026, the CSA published updated FAQs under Staff Notice 96- 307, providing clarifications on reporting hierarchy, verification, lifecycle reporting and error handling. It was also published on the Ontario Securities Commission website.

Australia – ASIC

Although the ASIC Derivative Transaction Rules (Reporting) 2024 have been live since October 2024, regulatory expectations continue to evolve.

In March 2026, ASIC published consultation proposals with amendments that would add nine new data elements (including schedule-based fields) and amend three existing elements. The consultation closes on May 22, 2026.

These proposals reflect revised CPMIIOSCO CDE Technical Guidance and ongoing alignment with global standards. ASIC supervisory activity during 2024–2026 has highlighted significant data quality deficiencies, reinforcing expectations for robust controls, reconciliation and issue escalation across all reporting entities.