This article was written by Patricia Tsang and Sophie Gerber (Director, TRAction Fintech Pty Ltd which provides services to report on behalf of OTC derivatives issuers).

As expected, final Australian regulations have been enacted which afford single-sided reporting relief in certain situations.

Further to the original proposals, the final regulations include a safe harbour for the entity relying on the single-sided reporting relief where regular and reasonable enquiries have been made.Preview Changes

Who does the single-sided reporting relief apply to?

The single-sided reporting relief will apply in certain circumstances to:

(a) Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs);

(b) Australian financial services licensees;

(c)  Clearing  Clearing Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. This gives credit to the bank where funds are deposited and a corresponding debit to the account of the paying institution. The Federal Reserve operates a nationwide check-clearing system. Clearing also is used to signify matching buyers and sellers in stock, futures, and options transactions. Understanding ClearingToday, any type of payment can be cleared. A credit card payment is cleared through the payment merchant. It can be said that clearing is the settlement of balances and transactions. There is also an act of cleaning contracts and risk through A clearinghouse, like CME Clearing, which is an intermediary between buyers and sellers in the derivatives market. As the intermediary or counterparty, to every trade, CME Clearing acts as the buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer for every transaction on an exchange. Stocks are cleared through global stock exchanges similar to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The clearing is the process of updating the accounts of the trading parties and arranging for the transfer of money and securities. Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. This gives credit to the bank where funds are deposited and a corresponding debit to the account of the paying institution. The Federal Reserve operates a nationwide check-clearing system. Clearing also is used to signify matching buyers and sellers in stock, futures, and options transactions. Understanding ClearingToday, any type of payment can be cleared. A credit card payment is cleared through the payment merchant. It can be said that clearing is the settlement of balances and transactions. There is also an act of cleaning contracts and risk through A clearinghouse, like CME Clearing, which is an intermediary between buyers and sellers in the derivatives market. As the intermediary or counterparty, to every trade, CME Clearing acts as the buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer for every transaction on an exchange. Stocks are cleared through global stock exchanges similar to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The clearing is the process of updating the accounts of the trading parties and arranging for the transfer of money and securities. Read this Term and settlement facility licensees; and

(d) exempt foreign licensees or foreign ADIs,

(not required to report or who did not opt in to report under Phase 1 or Phase 2) with total gross notional outstanding positions of less than A$5 billion for at least two consecutive quarters.

This is particularly relevant to entities who become subject to the  ASIC  ASIC The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the idea was to unite regulators in Australia by replacing the National Companies and Securities Commission and the Corporate Affairs offices. ASIC does not regulate business or register business structures, only business names. One of the unique features of the Australian regulator is that over 90% of its operating budget comes from fees and fines levies. These fees for service, including company registration fees and licensing fees for banks, brokers, and other financial institutions. What is ASIC Responsible For?The regulator is charged with protecting the public from financial fraud and to make sure the investor is knowledgeable and understands their involvement. To this end, the Commission provides a license to each Financial Services provider. ASIC tests and assesses the qualification and experience of Financial Advisors. An Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, an authorized representative, employee or director of an AFS licensee, or an employee or director of a related body corporate of an AFS licensee, is authorized to provide personal advice to retail clients concerning relevant financial products to retail clients ASIC monitors the behavior of Financial Advisors and can access fines and remove or suspend their license. The regulator also licenses all investment and trading companies doing business in Australia. One service of the most outstanding benefits is the Australian Market Regulation Feed. To monitor trading activity, brokers and market operators have to facilitate access to ASIC’s Integrated Market Surveillance System. This means brokers and other relevant bodies in the registry must allow daily access to: All orders, trades, and quotes that are processed and circulated by the trading engine All messages related to trading sessions, product price and status They are closely monitoring all online and day trading The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the idea was to unite regulators in Australia by replacing the National Companies and Securities Commission and the Corporate Affairs offices. ASIC does not regulate business or register business structures, only business names. One of the unique features of the Australian regulator is that over 90% of its operating budget comes from fees and fines levies. These fees for service, including company registration fees and licensing fees for banks, brokers, and other financial institutions. What is ASIC Responsible For?The regulator is charged with protecting the public from financial fraud and to make sure the investor is knowledgeable and understands their involvement. To this end, the Commission provides a license to each Financial Services provider. ASIC tests and assesses the qualification and experience of Financial Advisors. An Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, an authorized representative, employee or director of an AFS licensee, or an employee or director of a related body corporate of an AFS licensee, is authorized to provide personal advice to retail clients concerning relevant financial products to retail clients ASIC monitors the behavior of Financial Advisors and can access fines and remove or suspend their license. The regulator also licenses all investment and trading companies doing business in Australia. One service of the most outstanding benefits is the Australian Market Regulation Feed. To monitor trading activity, brokers and market operators have to facilitate access to ASIC’s Integrated Market Surveillance System. This means brokers and other relevant bodies in the registry must allow daily access to: All orders, trades, and quotes that are processed and circulated by the trading engine All messages related to trading sessions, product price and status They are closely monitoring all online and day trading Read this Term Derivative Transaction Rules (Reporting) (Reporting Rules) for the first time on October 12, 2015.

Requirement for a “reporting counterparty”

To obtain the benefit of the relief, the other party to the OTC derivative must be a “reporting counterparty”, subject to conditions which generally require the entity relying on the relief (the “exempt entity”) to obtain certain representations from the reporting counterparty.

The safe harbour is only available where the exempt entity “makes regular enquiries reasonably designed to determine whether” the representations are true or being met.

Exempt entities need to implement a process to ensure that the required enquiries are made.

For more information on this area, please see previous published articles by the authors:

23 August 2015 – “Australia – Will Single-Sided Reporting Relief Help OTC Derivative Issuers?”

6 September 2015 – “Australia – To Whom Should Australian OTC Derivative Issuers Report”

10 September 2015 – “Australia - October 12 Reporting Deadline Looming - Who needs to report under intermediary authorisation or authorised representative arrangements in relation to OTC derivatives?”