EMIR 3 active account reporting every six months

A central counterparty (CCP) stands between the buyer and the seller of a derivative and guarantees the trade. The active account requirement in EMIR 3, the revision of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation by Regulation (EU) 2024/2987 (external site), requires certain counterparties to hold an account at an EU CCP and to use it. It concerns derivatives also cleared at clearing services of substantial systemic importance outside the EU.

Counterparties subject to the requirement report on their active accounts to their competent authority every six months, under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 (external site). The report shows that the account works and is in use.

The account is permanently functional, with legal documentation, IT connectivity and internal processes in place, as Article 7a(3)(a) sets (external site). Counterparties with a notional clearing volume of EUR 6 billion or more also clear, on an annual average, at least five trades in each of the most relevant subcategories of euro and Polish zloty interest rate derivatives and euro short-term interest rate derivatives (EMIR Article 7a (external site)).

The report gives aggregate data: the number of transactions cleared in the active accounts, a breakdown by CCP and the subcategories selected (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 (external site)).

As an example, a counterparty files on 31 January 2027 a report on the trades cleared in its EU active account over the preceding twelve months, using the ESMA templates (external site).

Counterparties that clear at least 85 percent of their relevant contracts at an EU CCP are exempt from the operational conditions and the related reporting (ESMA final report (external site)).

The requirement applies to financial and non-financial counterparties subject to the clearing obligation in the relevant classes, under Article 7a of EMIR (external site). Banks, investment firms, asset managers and insurers can fall within it. Roles directly affected include:

• Trade & Transaction Reporting Analyst: the six-monthly report is compiled from cleared trade data per CCP and subcategory.
• Collateral Management Analyst: the EU active account stays funded and ready for large volumes at short notice.
• Middle Office Analyst: cleared trades are tagged to the right account and CCP for the count.
• Reconciliations Analyst: trade counts are matched between internal records and CCP statements before submission.

The active account requirement has applied since 25 June 2025, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (external site). Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 (external site) of 29 October 2025 sets the operational conditions and reporting, and was published in the Official Journal on 6 February 2026.

ESMA released the reporting templates and instructions on 13 April 2026. The first report was due on 31 July 2026, covering 25 June 2025 to 30 June 2026 (ESMA (external site)).

Later reports follow on 31 January and 31 July each year, each covering twelve months (ESMA (external site)). The next two dates are marked expected because they come from ESMA instructions.

EMIR, Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, sets the clearing obligation for standardised over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and Regulation (EU) 2024/2987 (external site) amended it in 2024.

ESMA consulted on the active account conditions in November 2024 and published its final report (external site) in June 2025. The Commission adopted the standards as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/305 (external site).