Role of European Securities and Markets Authority in the EU OTC Derivatives Legal Regulation

The work is dedicated to the legal regulation of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and its activities in the field of derivatives regulation. Purpose of the research is to analyze the ESMA’s structure and its legal practice. The article describes the reasons of the World financial crisis of 2007-2009 and its impact on the EU economy. One of the issues that presumably provoked the crisis was abusive derivatives contracts concluded in the West. The Commission proposed a new financial markets regulation in the EU which suggested creation of a supervisory authority. The proposal was followed by setting up of ESMA in 2011. The Authority specializes in drafting of the EU legislation in the field of its competence, supervises financial markets, inspects the operation of counterparties and post-trading activities such as central clearing, reporting to trade repositories etc. Furthermore ESMA ensures financial markets stability and transparency, as well as unhampered economic relations and protection from economic downturns. The author relies on comparative, historical and analytical methods. The work was carried out on the basis of legislative sources (the EU regulations and directives) and academic writings of Russian and Western scholars. ESMA has significantly contributed to the implementation of the OTC derivatives reform in the EU. The Authority has to a high degree impacted elaboration of the European legislation dedicated to the successful operation of the financial markets. The research covers the OTC derivatives regulation in the EU and ESMA activities. This theme hasn’t been properly examined in Russian academic writings and therefore draws certain scientific attention.

Европейский орган по ценным бумагам и рынкам, производные финансовые инструменты, деривативы, мировой финансовый кризис, клиринг, торговый репозитарий, регламент