ESMA final report on guarantees as CCP collateral and investment policy

The European Securities and Markets Authority has formally released its final report addressing the treatment of public guarantees, public bank guarantees, and commercial bank guarantees as eligible collateral for central counterparties. According to Regulationtomorrow, the comprehensive package also covers targeted updates to investment policies and highly secure deposit arrangements for financial instruments. The regulatory output amends Commission Delegated Regulation 153/2013, marking a crucial juncture for European market infrastructure as authorities refine the operational rules governing clearing houses and risk management standards.

The regulatory trajectory leading to this final report began earlier in the year. ESMA initiated its formal consultation on the draft regulatory technical standards on 23 February 2026, welcoming stakeholder commentary until 30 April 2026. During that consultation window, regulators hosted a public hearing on 23 April 2026 to field industry feedback on the proposed parameters governing commercial and public bank guarantees, according to Regulationtomorrow. Parallel monitoring reports from INSIGHT EU MONITORING confirm that the review sat alongside a wider ecosystem of supervisory adjustments, including separate consultations on post-trade risk reduction services under EMIR 3 and money market fund stress test calibrations.

Industry reaction has been largely constructive, though tempered by demands for risk management rigor. In its formal response submitted on 30 April 2026, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association stated that it broadly supports ESMA's proposed draft regulatory technical standards to expand the use of guarantees as eligible central counterparty collateral. At the same time, derivatives market participants emphasized the absolute necessity of maintaining stringent eligibility conditions and tight concentration limits to prevent systemic vulnerabilities. Market engagement remains intense, coming on the heels of annual industry data showing that leading derivatives market participants collected record margin amounts for non-cleared exposures toward the close of the previous year.

The regulatory machinery now moves from supervisory drafting to the legislative adoption phase. ESMA has formally submitted its completed report alongside the draft regulatory technical standards to the European Commission. Under standard EU institutional procedures, the Commission possesses a strict three-month period to review the text and decide whether to formally adopt the rules in the structure of a Commission Delegated Regulation, as noted by Regulationtomorrow.

What to Watch Next

• European Commission Review: Monitor the executive branch for its adoption decision within the mandatory three-month review window following the October submission.
• Parliamentary and Council Scrutiny: Following any adoption by the Commission, the resulting Delegated Regulation will enter a non-objection period overseen directly by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
• Collateral Implementation: Clearing houses and major financial institutions will need to prepare internal operational frameworks to align with the finalized guarantee eligibility parameters and updated concentration limits once the rules clear their final legislative hurdles.