EU EMIR: ESMA consults on Article 7d reporting

On 18 August 2026, ESMA published a consultation paper on Article 7d of EU EMIR, including drafts of the Level 2 regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implementing technical standards (ITS).

Article 7d of EU EMIR requires clearing members and clients that clear contracts through a recognised CCP (there are currently 41 in total) to report on their clearing activity as follows:

a) where they are established in the EU but not part of a group subject to consolidated supervision in the Union, they shall report to their competent authorities;
b) where they are part of a group subject to consolidated supervision in the EU, the EU parent undertaking of that group shall report such clearing activity on a consolidated basis to its competent authority.

While Article 7d technically entered into force on 24 December 2024, ESMA confirmed in a public statement in December 2025 that the first reports would be due following the implementation of the necessary Level 2 measures, work on which had at that point been delayed.

The consultation is essential reading for firms with an EU nexus clearing transactions at a recognised CCP (derivatives or otherwise). ESMA has indicated that securities, derivatives, repos or other securities financing transactions (SFTs) and non-financial instruments (spot contracts and crypto-assets (other than derivatives)) are all potentially within scope, though its proposals have been calibrated somewhat with the intention of removing duplication with existing EMIR and SFTR reporting lines.

Some key points to note on the consultation, from a buy-side perspective:

• Clients. The Article 7d reporting obligation is expressed to apply to clearing members and clients. For the buy-side, access to clearing is typically obtained through client clearing arrangements with clearing members of the relevant CCP, so what is meant by clients in this context is important. As with many other terms used in EU EMIR, ‘clients’ does not have its natural meaning. EU EMIR defines a client as ‘an undertaking with a contractual relationship with a clearing member of a CCP which enables that undertaking to clear its transactions with that CCP’. ESMA’s consultation indicates that clients of clients of clearing members (i.e., indirect clearing clients) would therefore not be within scope – but clients of clearing members could be (more on this below). A footnote to the consultation makes clear that ‘clients’ for this purpose encompasses any natural or legal person or undertaking that participates in clearing arrangements in an economic capacity – so very broad in scope, potentially including individuals and family offices – this is not limited e.g. to financial counterparties.
• Clients established in the EU. For clients of clearing members that clear contracts through a recognised CCP, the draft RTS would require reporting on type of instruments cleared and average values cleared in relation to: (a) financial instruments other than derivatives and SFTs; and (b) non-financial instruments, in each case where those clients are established in the EU.
• Clients established outside the EU but part of groups subject to consolidated supervision in the EU. In this case, given the gaps in existing reporting frameworks there are no proposed product-level exclusions here for derivatives and SFTs, and the EU parent undertaking of that group would need to report on the type of instruments cleared and average values cleared in relation to the clearing activity at recognised CCPs for all financial instruments and non-financial instruments.
• Additional margin reporting for clients of certain non-EU clearing members. In relation to the clients described above, additional reporting on margin will be required where their clearing member is non-EU and not part of a group subject to consolidated supervision in the EU.
• Data Collection and Responsibility. Much buy-side reporting under EMIR generally is delegated to the relevant dealer. Buy-side firms will need to consider how this new data can be collected, and the governance and responsibility around this, particularly in a multi-manager context.
• Timing. The consultation is open until 12 October 2026 and ESMA expects to publish a final report in Q4 2026. ESMA has proposed that the first reporting will be required on the last business day of January 2028 or 2029, depending on when the final versions of the RTS and ITS enter into force. However, ESMA’s expectation is that data will be included for each year from and including 2025 in those first reports, which, particularly given the potential product scope of the obligation, could be very challenging.

ESMA is interested in obtaining evidence on the practical and financial implications of the proposed reporting requirements (such as direct compliance costs, data sourcing, reconciliation effort, systems development, and interactions with clearing members and service providers). Firms that are members of industry associations may want to consider feeding into any relevant workstreams.

We would also be very happy to speak to you about the proposals. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss them further with us.