The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced the implementation of Coordinated Blanket Order 96-932, providing temporary exemptions from specific derivatives data reporting requirements.
This order, adopted by all CSA members through local blanket orders, is designed to alleviate reporting obligations for certain market participants known as end-users.
The blanket order arrives ahead of broader amendments to over-the-counter derivatives trade reporting rules that the CSA unveiled on July 25. These amendments will take effect on July 25, 2025, and aim to reduce regulatory pressure on end-users. By enacting the blanket order immediately, the CSA allows end-users to benefit from these reduced requirements a year before the formal adoption of the new regulations.
Under this temporary exemption, end-users will no longer be required to report valuation data. Additionally, the order extends reporting deadlines, aligning with the forthcoming changes.
The blanket order aims to ensure consistent, harmonized exemptions across all CSA jurisdictions. It includes specific exemptions for end-user reporting of commodity derivatives and inter-affiliate trades, which vary by jurisdiction. For commodity derivatives, the order exempts local counterparties, who are not qualified reporting counterparties, from reporting transactions below a certain notional threshold, but only in Ontario, Manitoba, and Québec. This limitation exists because MI 96-101 already provides a similar exclusion in other provinces like Alberta.
For inter-affiliate trades, the order allows exemptions for transactions between non-qualified reporting counterparties within affiliated entities, but only in Ontario and Manitoba. This is due to comparable existing rules, such as MI 99-101 and Québec’s Blanket Order 2015-PDG-0089, already providing equivalent relief.
The move coincides with the 10th anniversary of derivatives trade reporting in Canada. According to the CSA, this reporting framework has played a critical role in enhancing transparency in the derivatives market in the past decade, a measure that supports comprehensive regulatory oversight. This oversight helps monitor and mitigate systemic risk, as well as detect potential market abuses.
The CSA noted that the amendments set to take effect in July 2025 will streamline derivatives data reporting and align it with international practices. This approach is intended to optimize the reporting process, making it more effective and efficient.