MAR 10.2 Position limit requirements

1. (1)

   1The following provisions of the MiFI Regulations regulate the establishment, application and resetting of position limits:

   1. (a)

      Regulation 16(1) imposes an obligation on the FCA to establish position limits in respect of commodity derivatives traded on trading venues in the United Kingdom and economically equivalent OTC contracts;

   2. (b)

      Regulation 16(2) imposes an obligation on the FCA to establish position limits on the basis of all positions held by a person in the contract to which the limit relates and those held on the person’s behalf at an aggregate group level;

   3. (c)

      Regulation 16(4) imposes an obligation on the FCA to publish the position limits it establishes in a manner which the FCA considers appropriate;

   4. (d)

      Regulation 18 imposes an obligation on the FCA to ensure that each position limit established by it specifies clear quantitative thresholds for the maximum size of a position in a commodity derivative that a person can hold;

   5. (e)

      Regulation 19(1) imposes an obligation on the FCA to establish position limits in accordance with ESMA’s methodology, unless an exceptional case exists under Regulation 25 of the MiFI Regulations;

   6. (f)

      Regulation 19(2) imposes an obligation on the FCA to review position limits it has established in the presence of certain factors;

   7. (g)

      Regulation 19(3) imposes an obligation on the FCA to establish a new position limit following its review if it believes that the limit should be reset;

   8. (h)

      Regulation 20(2) imposes an obligation on the FCA, where it receives an ESMA opinion stating that the establishment of a position limit would be, or is, incompatible with that opinion, to modify the position limit in accordance with ESMA’s opinion or to notify ESMA as to why amendment to the limit is considered to be unnecessary;

   9. (i)

      Regulation 21(1) imposes an obligation on the FCA to not establish a position limit in respect of a commodity derivative traded on trading venues in the United Kingdom, where there is a central competent authority for that commodity derivative other than the FCA;

   10. (j)

       Regulation 23 imposes general obligations on the FCA in respect of the position limits it establishes, so that the limits must be transparent and non-discriminatory, specify how they apply to persons, and take account of the nature and composition of market participants and of the use they make of the contracts admitted to trading;

   11. (k)

       Regulation 25(1) prohibits the FCA from establishing position limits which are more restrictive than permitted under ESMA’s methodology, unless in exceptional cases where more restrictive position limits are objectively justified and proportionate;

   12. (l)

       Regulation 25(2) to Regulation 25(5) impose obligations on the FCA where it establishes position limits which are more restrictive than permitted under ESMA’s methodology in accordance with Regulation 25(1) of the MiFI Regulations. The obligations are that the FCA must publish that position limit on its website, not apply that position limit for more than six months from the date of publication unless further subsequent six-month application periods for that limit are objectively justified and proportionate, and must notify ESMA of the position limit and the justification for establishing it;

   13. (m)

       Regulation 20(5) and Regulation 25(6) impose obligations on the FCA to publish a notice on its website explaining the reasons for its decision when, under Regulation 20(2) and Regulation 25(5) of the MiFI Regulations respectively, it does not modify a position limit following an ESMA opinion incompatible with the limit; and

   14. (n)

       Regulation 27 empowers the FCA to require a person to provide information on, or concerning, a position the person holds, or trades the person has undertaken, or intends to undertake, in a contract to which a position limit relates.

2. (2)

   MiFID RTS 21 provides a methodology for the calculation of position limits on commodity derivatives, and rules for the calculation of the net position held by a person in a commodity derivative.

3. (3)

   MiFID RTS 21 provides that the FCA can establish different position limits for different times within the spot month period or other months’ period of a commodity derivative, and for the spot month period, those position limits shall decrease towards the maturity of the commodity derivative, and shall take into account the position management controls of trading venues.

[Note: article 57 of MiFID]

1. (1)

   1Regulation 17 of the MiFI Regulations regulates the position limit exemption applicable to positions in a commodity derivative held by or on behalf of a non-financial entity which are objectively measurable as reducing risks directly relating to the commercial activity of that non-financial entity, and which is approved by the FCA in accordance with the relevant criteria and procedures. Regulation 17(1) imposes an obligation on the FCA to disregard such positions, when calculating the position held by such entities in respect of a commodity derivative to which a position limit applies.

2. (2)

   Regulation 17(2) of the MiFI Regulations enables the FCA to receive applications from non-financial entities for the purposes of obtaining an exemption from the position limits which it sets and in such form as the FCA may direct.

3. (3)

   MiFID RTS 21 stipulates detail on positions qualifying as reducing risks directly related to commercial activities, and the application for the exemption from position limits.

4. (4)

   MiFID RTS 21 clarifies that a non-financial entity shall notify the FCA if there is a significant change to the nature or value of that non-financial entity’s commercial activities, or its trading activities in commodity derivatives. The obligation arises where the change is relevant to the description of the nature and value of the non-financial entity’s trading and positions held in commodity derivatives and their economically equivalent OTC contracts in a position limit exemption application it has already submitted. In this case, a non-financial entity must submit a new application if it intends to continue to make use of the exemption.

[Note: article 57(1) of MiFID]

1Where a position limit is established by a competent authority or central competent authority other than the FCA, a non-financial entity should submit its application for exemption, in relation to the position limit, to that competent authority or central competent authority in the manner it specifies.

[Note: article 8 of MiFID RTS 21]