ESMA consults on possible changes to annual fees for Tier 1 Third country central counterparties

ESMA has initiated a public consultation regarding potential revisions to the annual fees charged to Tier 1 third country CCPs under EMIR. These proposed changes are part of an effort to ensure that the annual fees imposed on Tier 1 CCPs are more proportionate and reflective of differences in size and activity among these CCPs.
ESMA suggests allocating annual fees among Tier 1 CCPs based on their global turnover. This approach would result in varying fee levels for CCPs in different turnover groups. The aim is to create a more balanced fee structure that considers the financial magnitude of each CCP’s operations.
The introduction of a basic minimum annual fee of EUR 50,000 per Tier 1 CCP is proposed. This minimum fee would provide a baseline for all Tier 1 CCPs, ensuring that even smaller CCPs pay a reasonable amount for the common monitoring activities performed by ESMA.
A maximum annual fee of EUR 250,000 per Tier 1 CCP is recommended. This maximum fee aims to prevent very large CCPs from being overburdened with fees, while still considering their significant size and potential monitoring costs.
Furthermore, ESMA is proposing an incentive scheme for Tier 1 CCPs that fail to provide audited turnover figures. CCPs that do not submit these figures would be assigned to the group with the highest weighting factor, thus incurring the highest fee. However, under exceptional circumstances and with a legal opinion confirming the impediment to providing audited figures, ESMA may consider a different approach.
The public consultation is open for stakeholder input until 10 November 2023.