On 27 January 2021, the European Commission adopted an equivalence decision determining that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regime for US central counterparties (CCPs) is equivalent to EU rules. The equivalence decision complements the existing equivalence decision for US CCPs regarding the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which was adopted in 2016.

The equivalence decision determines that the legal and supervisory arrangements applicable to US CCPs registered with the SEC can be considered to be equivalent to requirements laid down in the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation. The equivalence decision applies only to SEC-regulated ‘covered clearing agencies’. The equivalence decision is also conditional. In order to be allowed to offer services in the EU, US CCPs will have to have rules in place with respect to certain risk management requirements (i.e. liquidation periods and anti-procyclicality measures).