ICMA submits response to SEC’s Notice of Request for Exemptive Relief
29 May 2026 ICMA has submitted its response to the SEC Notice of Request for Exemptive Relief under the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate, which proposes targeted refinements to the inter-affiliate exemption in a cross-border context. The proposal contains two main elements: firstly, it would broaden the types of eligible affiliates by expanding the definition of the “affiliate counterparty” to include all affiliates under common control, excluding investment funds; and secondly, it would revise the outward facing condition by introducing a 10% activity-based threshold. In its response, ICMA supports the proposed expansion of the definition of “affiliate”. However, while recognising the Commission’s objective of preventing evasion of the clearing mandate, some ICMA members have raised concerns that the proposed 10 percent cap could create significant costs in terms of implementation, monitoring and governance and create operational, systems, and compliance burdens. ICMA also notes that the proposed methodology for calculating the threshold could create unintended advantages or disadvantages based on firm size, business model or organisational structure, and highlights a potential interaction with the IIB request.
