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ESMA

ESMA

European Securities and Markets Authority

Medium Impact

ESMA finalises draft RTS on CCP clearing member admission criteria and NFC access under EMIR 3

Published

Jul 8, 2026

Topics

EMIR 3, Central counterparties, Clearing member admission criteria, Non-financial counterparties, Client clearing, Sponsored clearing models, CCP risk management

Executive Summary

ESMA has issued its Final Report containing final draft Regulatory Technical Standards under amended Article 37 of EMIR. The draft RTS specify the elements EU CCPs should consider when establishing clearing member admission criteria and when assessing whether non-financial counterparties acting as clearing members can meet margin requirements and default fund contributions, including in stressed market conditions. ESMA confirms that the RTS do not set admission criteria directly; CCPs retain discretion to calibrate criteria and assessment methods by product, membership category, counterparty type and risk profile, provided access remains fair, transparent, objective and non-discriminatory. The report also addresses client clearing and sponsored clearing models, emphasising CCP-specific risk outcomes, enforceability of CCP rules, operational capacity, liquidity, contingency arrangements and clear allocation of responsibilities. The standards are not yet applicable law: ESMA will submit the final draft RTS to the European Commission, which has three months to decide whether to adopt them as a Delegated Regulation, followed by European Parliament and Council non-objection.

What Changed

newFinal draft RTS delivered for Commission adoption process

Previous

EMIR 3 amended Article 37 and mandated ESMA to develop RTS specifying elements for CCP admission criteria and NFC clearing member assessments.

New

ESMA’s Final Report includes the final draft RTS in Annex V; the Commission has three months after submission to decide whether to adopt them.

modifiedRisk-based and transparent CCP admission criteria

Previous

Article 37 required non-discriminatory, transparent and objective criteria ensuring sufficient financial resources and operational capacity.

New

The draft RTS specify elements to consider, including publication of criteria, procedures, timelines, required application information and risk-based rationales for additional requirements or access restrictions.

modifiedFinancial, liquidity and operational capacity elements

Previous

EMIR required clearing members to have sufficient financial resources and operational capacity, without RTS-level detail on assessment elements.

New

CCPs should consider margin, settlement and default fund obligations, stressed liquidity, eligible collateral access, operational connectivity, payment and settlement arrangements, business continuity and relevant third-party dependencies.

newNFC clearing member assessment elements

Previous

EMIR 3 introduced the condition that NFCs may be accepted as clearing members only if they demonstrate how they will meet margin and default fund contributions, including under stress.

New

The Final Report identifies elements including reliable liquidity access and proportional assessment despite absence of financial services authorisation or prudential licensing.

modifiedClient clearing and sponsored access risk controls

Previous

EMIR Article 37(3) required client-clearing members to have additional financial resources and operational capacity; sponsored models were not specified in Article 37 RTS detail.

New

CCPs should consider client-clearing risks, basic information needed for concentration and portability risk management, sponsor/sponsored member responsibility allocation, and credible contingency arrangements without mandating a single structure.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

EU CCPs subject to EMIR Article 37, their risk committees, and national competent authorities reviewing CCP participation requirements.

Indirectly affected

current and prospective clearing members, financial counterparties, non-financial counterparties seeking direct clearing access, sponsors in sponsored models, clients of clearing members, and legal, treasury, operations, compliance and technology teams supporting clearing access.

Jurisdictions

European Union, Third-country clearing members or sponsors accessing EU CCPs through CCP rulebooks and admission processes

Business processes

CCP rulebook maintenance and admission criteria governance, Clearing member onboarding and annual Article 37 compliance review, Risk committee advice on categories of admissible clearing members, Financial resource, liquidity and collateral due diligence, Operational connectivity, settlement, payment and business continuity testing, Client clearing concentration, segregation and portability controls, Sponsored clearing model documentation and contingency planning

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

Medium

Affected Reports

CCP clearing member admission criteria and rulebook change packClearing member onboarding and due diligence questionnaireArticle 37 ongoing monitoring and annual comprehensive review controlClient clearing information and concentration-risk controlSponsored access responsibility and contingency assessment record
FieldValidation rule
Membership category, product type and counterparty typeCCP admission criteria may be calibrated by cleared product, membership category and counterparty type where differences are justified by risk considerations.
Access restriction rationaleWhere admission criteria restrict access, the restriction should be proportionate, risk-based, alternatives should be considered, and the rationale should be documented.
Applicant financial resources and liquidity evidenceAdmission assessments should consider ability to meet settlement obligations, margin calls, default fund contributions, stressed liquidity needs and access to eligible collateral.
Operational capacity evidenceAdmission assessments should consider IT connectivity, payment and settlement access, staff expertise, operational risk management, business continuity and relevant third-party dependencies.
Client clearing information capabilityFor clearing members providing client clearing, CCP rules should allow the CCP to gather relevant basic information to identify, monitor and manage relevant client-clearing concentration risks.
Sponsored model responsibilities and contingency arrangementsSponsored model arrangements should clearly allocate responsibilities between sponsor and sponsored clearing member and include credible contingency arrangements relevant to CCP risk.
NFC margin and default fund demonstrationNFC clearing members must be assessed on how they intend to fulfil margin requirements and default fund contributions, including in stressed market conditions.

Recommended Actions

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

    Map existing CCP admission criteria against the draft RTS elements and identify gaps in transparency, documentation, proportionality and risk rationale.

  2. 2
    AI generatedStep 2 of 7

    Prepare rulebook and procedure updates for Commission adoption, but track the Delegated Regulation process before treating the RTS as binding.

  3. 3
    AI generatedStep 3 of 7

    Review onboarding questionnaires and attestations to capture liquidity, collateral, operational capacity, legal enforceability, client clearing and sponsored-access evidence proportionately.

  4. 4
    AI generatedStep 4 of 7

    For NFC applicants or members, design a targeted stress-liquidity evidence pack covering margin calls, default fund contributions and reliable funding sources.

  5. 5
    AI generatedStep 5 of 7

    Reassess sponsored clearing documentation to confirm responsibilities, termination/default triggers, margining, communications and contingency actions are clear and operationally testable.

  6. 6
    AI generatedStep 6 of 7

    Align annual Article 37 member reviews with the same criteria used at onboarding, avoiding duplicative prudential supervision but evidencing CCP-specific risk controls.

  7. 7
    AI generatedStep 7 of 7

    Brief clearing members and prospective applicants early on likely information requests to reduce onboarding delays after final adoption.

Timeline

publication

Dec 4, 2024

EMIR 3 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

effective date

Dec 24, 2024

EMIR 3 entered into force and amended EMIR Article 37 on CCP participation requirements.

publication

Oct 9, 2025

ESMA opened the public consultation on the draft RTS.

other

Nov 20, 2025

ESMA held a public hearing on the draft RTS.

consultation deadline

Jan 5, 2026

Public consultation on the draft RTS closed.

publication

Jul 8, 2026

ESMA published the Final Report containing the final draft RTS on CCP admission criteria elements.

Sources

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