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ESMA

ESMA

European Securities and Markets Authority

Medium Impact

ESMA publishes preliminary AAR findings and first Joint Monitoring Mechanism annual report

Published

Jul 6, 2026

Topics

EMIR, Active Account Requirement, Central counterparties, Clearing, Tier 2 CCPs, Joint Monitoring Mechanism, Derivatives, Financial stability

Executive Summary

ESMA has published the Interim Report on the effectiveness of the EMIR Active Account Requirement (AAR) and the first Annual Report of the Joint Monitoring Mechanism (JMM). The publications do not introduce a new rule, but they provide the first EU-level supervisory readout on AAR implementation and clearing-market monitoring. ESMA reports that, as of February 2026, around 500 entities had notified ESMA and national competent authorities that they are subject to the AAR, representing more than 90% of notional outstanding held by EU entities within scope. ESMA also identifies early signs of increased clearing at EU CCPs, particularly among smaller entities, while describing the shift from systemically important third-country CCPs to EU CCPs as gradual and limited. The JMM report broadens the lens to cross-border dependencies, including US linkages, EU CCP product expansion and possible synergies across EU-wide stress tests. Firms should treat the findings as a supervisory signal for AAR governance, data quality, clearing-location monitoring and readiness for ESMA’s final comprehensive assessment in 2027.

What Changed

newInterim AAR effectiveness assessment published

Previous

No published ESMA effectiveness assessment of the AAR had yet been available following the requirement’s recent entry into force.

New

The interim findings are preliminary and expressly without prejudice to ESMA’s final comprehensive assessment planned for 2027.

newAAR notification population disclosed

Previous

Market participants did not have an official ESMA-published aggregate view of the notifying population.

New

ESMA indicates that notifying entities represent more than 90% of notional outstanding held by EU entities in scope, with notifications across most Member States and stronger representation in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

newEarly EU CCP clearing impact identified

Previous

The market impact of the AAR was not yet evidenced in a published ESMA assessment.

New

ESMA describes the shift in market shares from Tier 2 CCPs to EU CCPs in certain AAR-related products as gradual and limited.

newFirst JMM annual report published

Previous

The JMM had no first annual report setting out outcomes from its first year of cross-sectoral monitoring.

New

The report covers AAR monitoring, broader cross-border developments, EU CCP trends and a stocktake of EU-wide stress tests.

newNext-stage AAR assessment methodology signalled

Previous

The source does not identify an already published final methodology for the AAR effectiveness assessment.

New

ESMA expects the final comprehensive assessment to be conducted in 2027 when a more complete data set is available.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

EU entities subject to the EMIR Active Account Requirement, including financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties within the relevant EMIR scope, plus clearing members and clients whose activity is monitored through the JMM.

Indirectly affected

EU CCPs, systemically important third-country Tier 2 CCPs, clearing brokers, trading desks, treasury, collateral, risk, regulatory reporting, compliance and national competent authority liaison teams.

Jurisdictions

European Union, France, Germany, Netherlands, United States cross-border clearing linkages, as monitored by the JMM

Business processes

AAR scoping and notification governance, Clearing account operational readiness at EU CCPs, Derivatives clearing venue selection and booking controls, Tier 2 CCP exposure monitoring, Notional outstanding and market-share analytics, Regulatory reporting template preparation and evidence retention, Supervisory engagement and NCA correspondence management

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

Medium

Affected Reports

AAR status notification inventory to ESMA and the relevant national competent authorityAAR reporting template submission pack and instructions released by ESMA, where applicableInternal clearing location and CCP exposure monitoring dashboard for AAR-related productsTier 2 CCP dependency and market-share monitoring controlJMM or NCA supervisory information-request tracker
FieldValidation rule

Recommended Actions

7 suggested next steps· derived from source analysis
  1. 1
    AI generatedStep 1 of 7

    Reconcile the firm’s AAR scoping assessment against ESMA’s reported notification population and confirm whether any group entities should have notified ESMA and their national competent authority.

  2. 2
    AI generatedStep 2 of 7

    Validate that EU CCP active accounts are operationally usable, not only opened, with evidence for connectivity, product coverage, clearing workflows, collateral processes and fallback procedures.

  3. 3
    AI generatedStep 3 of 7

    Build or refresh dashboards showing AAR-related product activity, notional outstanding, EU CCP versus Tier 2 CCP clearing shares and trends over time.

  4. 4
    AI generatedStep 4 of 7

    Review data gaps highlighted by ESMA’s staged assessment approach and retain auditable evidence supporting notification status, clearing activity and any position relocation decisions.

  5. 5
    AI generatedStep 5 of 7

    Align regulatory reporting teams with ESMA’s AAR reporting templates and instructions so submissions use consistent definitions and controls where reporting is required.

  6. 6
    AI generatedStep 6 of 7

    Brief senior management and relevant governance committees that ESMA’s findings are preliminary, with a final comprehensive assessment expected in 2027, and that supervisory expectations may evolve.

  7. 7
    AI generatedStep 7 of 7

    Monitor further ESMA methodology, JMM publications and NCA communications for any change from supervisory monitoring to more prescriptive expectations.

Timeline

implementation

Date not specified

During 2025, the JMM conducted its first year of joint cross-sectoral monitoring activities, including AAR monitoring.

other

Feb 2026

As of February 2026, ESMA reports that around 500 entities had notified ESMA and national competent authorities that they are subject to the AAR.

publication

Jul 16, 2026

ESMA published the Interim Report on the effectiveness of the Active Account Requirement and the first Annual Report of the Joint Monitoring Mechanism.

other

Date not specified

ESMA states that the final comprehensive AAR effectiveness assessment will be conducted in 2027, when a more complete data set is available.

Sources

AI-generated analysis is based on the following primary sources. Always verify against the official publication.

Related Evidence

Verified source support for this analysis

The evidence agent checks whether the drafted finding is supported by official publications and relevant public source material.

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