Clearing obligation

Roles that need it

• Regulatory Change Analyst
• Middle Office Analyst
• Trading Analyst
• Legal Counsel

Skills it belongs to

• Regulatory change impact assessment
• Derivatives and how they work

Related concepts

• EMIR (European Market Infrastructure Regulation)The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, sets EU rules for over-the-counter derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories. It imposes clearing of standard derivatives, risk mitigation (confirmation, reconciliation, margin) for uncleared ones and reporting of all derivatives; EMIR 3 (2024/2987) added the active account requirement.
• CCP (Central counterparty)A central counterparty (CCP) is an entity that interposes itself between the parties to trades in one or more markets, becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer. It manages counterparty risk through membership rules, margin, a default fund and a default waterfall, and in the EU is authorised under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
• Clearing memberA clearing member is a firm that is a direct participant of a central counterparty (CCP) and is responsible for meeting the obligations arising from the trades it clears, for itself and for its clients. It posts margin and contributes to the CCP default fund; clients access clearing through it.
• Active account requirement (EMIR 3)The active account requirement, introduced by EMIR 3 (Regulation (EU) 2024/2987), obliges EU counterparties subject to the clearing obligation above a threshold to hold an operational account at an EU central counterparty and clear a minimum number of trades there in certain interest rate derivatives denominated in euro and Polish zloty.
• OTC derivative (Over-the-counter derivative)An over-the-counter (OTC) derivative is a derivative contract negotiated and concluded bilaterally between two parties instead of on a regulated market, such as an interest rate swap, a currency forward or a credit default swap. In the EU OTC derivatives are subject to European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) clearing, risk mitigation and reporting rules.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (EMIR), EUR-Lex (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026
• Regulation (EU) 2024/2987 (EMIR 3), EUR-Lex (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026

Updated 31 Oct 2026.