ASIC has granted an Australian derivative trade repository (ADTR) licence to DTCC Derivatives Repository (Singapore) Pte Ltd (DDRS).
ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said the ADTR licence is the first of its kind granted by ASIC and is a key step in ASIC's implementation of mandatory trade reporting requirements for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.
The granting of the ADTR licence follows a process undertaken by ASIC and DDRS in the past few months to ensure that DDRS complies fully with Australian standards for trade repository licensees, including on critical issues such as cybersecurity and governance, while remaining subject to day-to-day oversight by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Ms Armour said, 'The licensing of DDRS represents a milestone in Australia's implementation of our Group of Twenty (G20) OTC derivatives commitments and ensures that Australian businesses subject to trade reporting obligations can report to a foreign trade repository which is licensed and supervised by ASIC.
'The licensing of a trade repository in Australia that is already licensed and operating in Singapore demonstrates ASIC's commitment to accepting equivalent foreign regulatory regimes where possible. This, together with the alternative reporting arrangements in our trade reporting regime, avoids cross-border duplicate reporting obligations and trade repository supervision where possible', Ms Armour said.
The licensing of DDRS means the start date of trade reporting for so-called 'Phase 3 reporting entities' under the ASIC reporting framework has now been finalised. These are all authorised deposit-taking institutions and Australian financial services licensees, as well as some overseas firms, that are not already reporting OTC trades to ASIC. The trade reporting obligation will commence for large Phase 3 reporting entities (Phase 3A) from 13 April 2015, and for the remaining Phase 3 reporting entities (Phase 3B) from 12 October 2015.