European retail and institutional investors use European Union (EU) and third-country benchmarks for a variety of critical commercial purposes, from hedging their exposures to converting overseas revenue and repatriating funds. The EU Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) was intended to protect European investors from the risks and disruption posed by poorly run or failing benchmarks. Instead, fundamental flaws in its conception have made the BMR a threat to the financial well-being of benchmark users in the EU and put them at a significant competitive disadvantage.

In response, ISDA, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), the Futures Industry Association (FIA) and the Global Foreign Exchange Division (GFXD) of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) have published a set of recommendations to reform the BMR, aimed at maintaining the intended protections of the BMR but reducing the potential for uncertainty and disruption and preventing EU investors from being put at a competitive disadvantage versus non-EU entities.

Click on the attached PDF to read the full paper.