ESMA recognises the Clearing Corporation of India Limited as a Tier 1 third-country CCP

What Changed

• - CCIL is formally recognised as a Tier 1 third‑country central counterparty (TC‑CCP) under Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (EMIR), allowing it to offer clearing services to EU clearing members and EU trading venues.
• The recognition is contingent on an equivalence decision adopted by the European Commission for the Indian regulatory framework applicable to CCPs under EMIR Article 25.
• ESMA has assessed and confirmed effective supervision and enforcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over CCIL as a prerequisite for recognition.
• ESMA and RBI have put in place cooperation arrangements, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding, to support ongoing supervisory coordination over CCIL’s activities that affect EU participants.
• CCIL is now included in ESMA’s updated list of recognised third‑country CCPs, clarifying that EU firms may use CCIL’s clearing services while complying with EMIR’s clearing and risk‑management requirements.
• EU clearing members and trading venues can again access CCIL for clearing of specified products (e.g. Indian government securities, FX, money market and derivatives cleared by CCIL), without breaching EMIR’s prohibition on using non‑recognised third‑

Suggested Considerations

• Confirm and document that CCIL now appears on ESMA’s official list of recognised third‑country CCPs and that its status is Tier 1 under EMIR, updating internal CCP eligibility lists and counterparty approval registers accordingly.
• Review and update internal clearing policies, procedures and governance documents to reflect that EU entities may again clear eligible products through CCIL, subject to EMIR and firm‑specific risk appetite.
• Reassess and formally approve CCIL within the firm’s CCP due‑diligence framework, including credit risk, operational risk, legal risk and jurisdictional risk assessments, taking account of the RMU with RBI and the Tier 1 classification.
• Update EMIR compliance mappings to ensure that trades cleared via CCIL are correctly treated for clearing obligation, risk‑management, reporting and collateral requirements, and that no activity is undertaken through non‑recognised CCPs in India.
• Coordinate with front‑office, clearing operations and collateral management teams to re‑open or adjust clearing access to CCIL (e.g. membership arrangements, client clearing channels, account structures, margin and collateral workflows).
• Review client agreements, disclosures and outsourcing/third‑party risk documents to ensure that they appropriately reflect the use of CCIL as a recognised third‑country CCP, including any changes in risk profile or legal terms.

Key Dates

Who is Affected