On April 7, ISDA responded to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) consultation on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under article 49(5) of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), on the conditions for an application for validation of model changes and parameters under Articles 49 and 49a of EMIR, which have been revised as part of EMIR 3.

In the consultation paper, ESMA sets out proposed quantitative thresholds and qualitative elements to be considered when determining whether a model change is significant. In the response, ISDA noted that more information would be necessary to understand the rationale behind the thresholds that are proposed. ISDA provided comments on ESMA’s interpretation of ‘concentration risk’ and on the proposed lookback period for assessing whether a change in significant.