Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1683 of 28 September 2022 on the equivalence of the regulatory framework for central counterparties in Colombia to the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 30 September 2022
• Date of Signature: 28 September 2022
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 252, 30 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Free movement of capital,Freedom of establishment

30.9.2022 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 252/78

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COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2022/1683

of 28 September 2022

on the equivalence of the regulatory framework for central counterparties in Colombia to the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (1), and in particular Article 25(6) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The procedure for recognition of central counterparties (‘CCPs’) established in third countries set out in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 aims to allow CCPs established and authorised in third countries whose regulatory standards are equivalent to those laid down in that Regulation to provide clearing services to clearing members or trading venues established in the Union. That recognition procedure and the equivalence decision provided for therein thus contribute to the achievement of the overarching aim of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 to reduce systemic risk by extending the use of safe and sound CCPs to clear over-the-counter (‘OTC’) derivative contracts, including where those CCPs are established and authorised in a third country.

(2) In order for a third-country legal regime to be considered equivalent to the legal regime of the Union in respect of CCPs, the substantive outcome of the applicable legal and supervisory arrangements should be equivalent to Union requirements in respect of the regulatory objectives they achieve. The purpose of such equivalence assessment is therefore to verify that the legal and supervisory arrangements of the third country concerned ensure that CCPs established and authorised in that third country do not expose clearing members and trading venues established in the Union to a higher level of risk than those clearing members and trading venues could be exposed to by CCPs authorised in the Union and, consequently, do not pose unacceptable levels of systemic risk in the Union. The significantly lower risks inherent in clearing activities carried out in financial markets that are smaller than the Union financial market should therefore be taken into account.

(3) The assessment of whether the legal and supervisory arrangements of Colombia are equivalent to those of the Union should not only be based on a comparative analysis of the legally binding requirements applicable to CCPs in Colombia, but also on an assessment of the outcome of those requirements. The Commission should also assess the adequacy of those requirements to mitigate the risks that clearing members and trading venues established in the Union may be exposed to, taking into account the size of the financial market in which CCPs that are authorised in Colombia operate. More stringent risk mitigation requirements are necessary for CCPs carrying out their activities in larger financial markets whose inherent level of risk is higher than for CCPs carrying out their activities in smaller financial markets whose inherent level of risk is lower.

(4) Article 25(6), points (a), (b) and (c), of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 lays down three conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to determine that the legal and supervisory arrangements of a third country regarding CCPs authorised therein are equivalent to those laid down in that Regulation.

(5) According to Article 25(6), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, CCPs authorised in a third country must comply with legally binding requirements that are equivalent to the requirements laid down in Title IV of that Regulation.

(6) The legally binding requirements applicable to CCPs authorised in Colombia are laid down in Law no. 964 of 2005 regulating clearing and settlement of financial instruments (‘the primary rules’) as well as in the general rules laid down in Decree 2555 of 2010 in Book 13 of Part 2 and circulars issued by the Superintendencia Financiera (‘SFC’) (‘the secondary rules’). Those rules together set out the standards and requirements that CCPs authorised in Colombia have to comply with on an

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