CHAPTER VIIU.K. DEFAULT FUND (Article 42 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012)

Article 29U.K.Framework and governance

1.To determine the minimum size of default fund and amount of other financial resources necessary to satisfy the requirements of Articles 42 and 43 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, taking into account group dependencies, a CCP shall implement an internal policy framework for defining the types of extreme but plausible market conditions that could expose it to greatest risk.

2.The framework shall include a statement describing how the CCP defines extreme but plausible market conditions. It shall be fully documented and retained in accordance with Article 12.

3.The framework shall be discussed by the risk committee and approved by the board. The robustness of the framework and its ability to reflect market movements shall be subject to at least an annual review. The review shall be discussed by the risk committee and reported to the board.

Article 30U.K.Identifying extreme but plausible market conditions

1.The framework described in Article 29 shall reflect the risk profile of the CCP, taking account of cross-border and cross-currency exposures where relevant. It shall identify all the market risks to which a CCP would be exposed following the default of one or more clearing member, including unfavourable movements in the market prices of cleared instruments, reduced market liquidity for these instruments, and declines in the liquidation value of collateral. The framework shall also reflect additional risks to the CCP arising from the simultaneous failure of entities in the group of the defaulting clearing member.

2.The framework shall individually identify all the markets to which a CCP is exposed in a clearing member default scenario. For each identified market the CCP shall specify extreme but plausible conditions based at least on:

(a)a range of historical scenarios, including periods of extreme market movements observed over the past 30 years, or as long as reliable data have been available, that would have exposed the CCP to greatest financial risk. If a CCP decides that recurrence of a historical instance of large price movements is not plausible, it shall justify its omission from the framework to the competent authority;

(b)a range of potential future scenarios, founded on consistent assumptions regarding market volatility and price correlation across markets and financial instruments, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative assessments of potential market conditions.

3.The framework shall also consider, quantitatively and qualitatively, the extent to which extreme price movements could occur in multiple identified markets simultaneously. The framework shall recognise that historical price correlations may breakdown in extreme but plausible market conditions.

Article 31U.K.Reviewing extreme but plausible scenarios

The procedures described in Article 30 shall be reviewed by the CCP on a regular basis, taking into account all relevant market developments and the scale and concentration of clearing member exposures. The set of historical and hypothetical scenarios used by a CCP to identify extreme but plausible market conditions shall be reviewed by the CCP, in consultation with the risk committee, at least annually and more frequently when market developments or material changes to the set of contracts cleared by the CCP affect the assumptions underlying the scenarios and so require an adjustment to the scenarios. Material changes to the framework shall be reported to the board.