UK FCA final policy on streamlining the UK EMIR intragroup regime

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a final policy statement (PS26/21) on streamlining the intragroup regime under the UK version of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (UK EMIR). UK EMIR provides exemptions from the clearing obligation and bilateral margin requirements for intragroup transactions, provided the counterparties meet certain conditions. The policy statement should be read alongside HM Treasury's (HMT) statutory instrument (SI)—the Over-the-Counter Derivatives (Intragroup Transactions) Regulations 2026—which amends UK EMIR to provide for a permanent, streamlined intragroup regime.

The policy statement contains the FCA's final binding technical standards (BTS) and confirms the revocation of certain Q&As relating to the intragroup regime, implementing HMT's reforms alongside additional changes to further reduce burdens on counterparties. The relevant BTS are the UK versions of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2251 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 149/2013.

The FCA is largely proceeding as consulted on, with some additional consequential amendments to align with the final SI. The new regime comes into effect on 1 January 2027. Key dates and actions for firms include:

• Existing exemptions: all intragroup margin and clearing exemptions that applied immediately before 1 January 2027 will continue to have effect, provided the relevant conditions apply. This includes exemptions granted temporarily under the Temporary Intragroup Exemption Regime (TIGER). Counterparties do not need to do anything to keep benefiting from them.
• New exemptions before 1 January 2027: the FCA strongly encourages counterparties to submit notifications before 5 December using the current notification process. This ensures the FCA can process them before the current regime expires.
• Notifications between 5 and 31 December: counterparties planning to notify in this period should contact the FCA as soon as possible to discuss how best to address their circumstances in light of the transition to the new regime.
• From 1 January 2027: if both counterparties to a transaction are established in the UK, they won't need to notify. Instead, they will need to self-assess that they meet the relevant condition before using the exemption. All other counterparties will need to notify under the new streamlined notification process. From 5 December, the FCA will update its Connect platform and UK EMIR webpages to implement this process.

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