Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 153/2013Show full title

SECTION 4 U.K. Stress testing

Article 51 U.K. Stress testing procedure

1. A CCP’s stress tests shall apply stressed parameters, assumptions, and scenarios to the models used for the estimation of risk exposures to make sure its financial resources are sufficient to cover those exposures under extreme but plausible market conditions.

2. A CCP’s stress testing programme shall require the CCP to conduct a range of stress tests on a regular basis that shall consider the CCP’s product mix and all elements of its models and their methodologies and its liquidity risk management framework.

3. A CCP’s stress testing programme shall prescribe that stress tests are performed, using defined stress testing scenarios, on both past and hypothetical extreme but plausible market conditions in accordance with Chapter VII. Past conditions to be used shall be reviewed and adjusted, where appropriate. A CCP shall also consider other forms of appropriate stress testing scenarios including, but not limited to, the technical or financial failure of its settlement banks, nostro agents, custodian banks, liquidity providers, or interoperable CCPs.

4. A CCP shall have the capacity to adapt its stress tests quickly to incorporate new or emerging risks.

5. A CCP shall consider the potential losses arising from the default of a client, where known, which clears through multiple clearing members.

6. A CCP shall periodically report its stress testing results and analysis in a form that does not breach confidentiality to the risk committee in order to seek its advice in the review of its models, its methodologies and its liquidity risk management framework.

7. Stress testing results and analysis shall be made available to all clearing members and, where known to the CCP, clients. For all other clients, back testing results and analysis shall be made available by the relevant clearing members on request. Such information shall be aggregated in a form that does not breach confidentiality and clearing members and clients shall only have access to detailed stress testing results and analysis for their own portfolios.

8. A CCP shall define the procedures to detail the actions it could take given the results of stress testing analysis.

Article 52 U.K. Risk factors to stress test

1. A CCP shall identify, and have an appropriate method for measuring, relevant risk factors specific to the contracts it clears that could affect its losses. A CCP’s stress tests shall, at least, take into account risk factors specified for the following type of financial instruments, where applicable:

(a) interest rate related contracts: risk factors corresponding to interest rates in each currency in which the CCP clears financial instruments. The yield curve modelling shall be divided into various maturity segments in order to capture variation in the volatility of rates along the yield curve. The number of related risk factors shall depend on the complexity of the interest rate contracts cleared by the CCP. Basis risk, arising from less than perfectly correlated movements between government and other fixed-income interest rates, shall be captured separately;

(b) exchange rate related contracts: risk factors corresponding to each foreign currency in which the CCP clears financial instruments and to the exchange rate between the currency in which margin calls are made and the currency in which the CCP clears financial instruments;

(c) equity related contracts: risk factors corresponding to the volatility of individual equity issues for each of the markets cleared by the CCP and to the volatility of various sectors of the overall equity market. The sophistication and nature of the modelling technique for a given market shall correspond to the CCP’s exposure to the overall market as well as its concentration in individual equity issues in that market;

(d) commodity contracts: risk factors that take into account the different categories and sub-categories of commodity contracts and related derivatives cleared by the CCP, including, where appropriate, variations in the convenience yield between derivatives positions and cash positions in the commodity;

(e) credit related contracts: risk factors that consider jump to default risk, including the cumulative risk arising from multiple defaults, basis risk and recovery rate volatility.

2. In its stress tests, a CCP shall also give appropriate consideration at least to the following:

(a) correlations, including those between identified risk factors and similar contracts cleared by the CCP;

(b) factors corresponding to the implied and historical volatility of the contract being cleared;

(c) specific characteristics of any new contracts to be cleared by the CCP;

(d) concentration risk, including to a clearing member, and group entities of clearing members;

(e) interdependencies and multiple relationships;

(f) relevant risks including foreign exchange risk;

(g) set exposure limits;

(h) wrong-way risk.

Article 53 U.K. Stress testing total financial resources

1. A CCP’s stress-testing programme shall ensure that its combination of margin, default fund contributions and other financial resources are sufficient to cover the default of at least the two clearing members to which it has the largest exposures under extreme but plausible market conditions. The stress testing programme shall also examine potential losses resulting from the default of entities in the same group as the two clearing members to which it has the largest exposures under extreme but plausible market conditions.

2. A CCP’s stress-testing programme shall ensure that its margins and default fund are sufficient to cover at least the default of the clearing member to which it has the largest exposures or of the second and third largest clearing members, if the sum of their exposures is larger in accordance with Article 42 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012.

3. The CCP shall conduct a thorough analysis of the potential losses it could suffer and shall evaluate the potential losses in clearing member positions, including the risk that liquidating such positions could have an impact on the market and the CCP’s level of margin coverage.

4. A CCP shall, where applicable, consider in its stress tests, the effects of the default of a clearing member that issues financial instruments cleared by the CCP or the underlying of derivatives cleared by the CCP. Where applicable, the effects of a client’s default that issues financial instruments cleared by the CCP or the underlying of derivatives cleared by the CCP shall also be considered.

5. A CCP’s stress tests shall consider the liquidation period as provided for in Article 26.

Article 54 U.K. Stress testing liquid financial resources

1. A CCP’s stress-testing programme of its liquid financial resources shall ensure that they are sufficient in accordance with the requirements laid down in Chapter VIII.

2. A CCP shall have clear and transparent rules and procedures to address insufficient liquid financial resources highlighted by its stress tests to ensure settlement of payments obligations.

A CCP shall also have clear procedures for using the results and analysis of its stress tests to evaluate and adjust the adequacy of its liquidity risk management framework and liquidity providers.

3. The stress testing scenarios used in the stress testing of liquid financial resources shall consider the design and operation of the CCP, and include all entities that might pose material liquidity risk to it. Such stress tests shall also consider any strong linkages or similar exposures between its clearing members, including other entities that are part of the same group, and assess the probability of multiple defaults and the contagion effect among its clearing members that such defaults may cause.