On 18 February 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a press release announcing that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, three central counterparties (CCPs) established in the UK (LCH Limited, ICE Clear Europe Limited and LME Clear Limited), will be recognised (under Article 25 of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation) to provide their services in the EU. ESMA has adopted these recognition decisions in order to limit the risk of disruption in central clearing and to avoid any negative impact on the financial stability of the EU.

ESMA notes that the recognition process for UK central securities depositories is still on-going. The results of this process will be published as soon as the process is finalised.