On 24 January 2025, the European Commission (Commission) adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) as regards over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives identifying reference data to be used for the purposes of the transparency requirements laid down in Article 8a(2) and Articles 10 and 21.

The main objective of the Delegated Regulation is to comply with the mandate given to the Commission in Article 27(5), first sub-paragraph, of MiFIR which is to specify the identifying reference data to be used with regard to OTC derivatives for the purposes of the transparency requirements laid down in Article 8a(2) and Articles 10 and 21 of MiFIR. The Delegated Regulation differentiates between interest rate and credit derivatives. As the issue of the daily expiry date has only arisen with the ISO 6166 (ISIN) for OTC interest rate swaps, the Delegated Regulation is mostly focused on this asset class (interest rates) and instrument type (swaps).

Key provisions

The key provisions of the Delegated Regulation are:

  • Article 1 contains the operative rules on the identifying reference data to be used from 1 September 2026 for OTC interest rate and OTC credit default swaps for the purposes of the transparency requirements laid down in Article 8(a), and Articles 10 and 21 of MiFIR.
  • Article 2 sets out the date of entry into force as well as the date of entry into application. The Delegated Regulation starts to apply from the date of its entry into force.
  • The Annex includes a table listing identifying reference data for OTC interest rate swaps. The Annex also includes a table listing standard business terms for the reference rates referenced in OTC interest rate swaps subject to the transparency requirements laid down in Article 8a(2), and Articles 10 and 21 of MiFIR.

Next steps

The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.