Background
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set the effective dates for mandatory central clearing of transactions in U.S. Treasuries as 31 December 2026 for eligible cash transactions and 30 June 2027 for eligible repo transactions. Under the rule, initially published in 2023, a covered clearing agency providing central counterparty services for US Treasury securities must implement policies and procedures requiring every direct participant to submit all eligible secondary market transactions in US Treasuries for clearing. Clearing agencies must also monitor direct participants’ submissions and take action where required submissions are not made. The mandate has significant implications for market participants globally. Through the ERCC and regional engagement in APAC, ICMA has been closely following the developments on this topic.
ICMA Initiatives
Over the summer of 2025, ICMA conducted an interview series with selected banks in Asia, which highlighted a range of readiness challenges as well as concerns around the breadth of the mandate’s extraterritorial application. High-level summary notes of the interviews can be found here.
In October 2025, ICMA hosted a member webinar to discuss the scope of the mandate, infrastructure readiness, access models, and how firms can effectively prepare for go-live. This follows the initial webinar held in November 2024.
In November 2025, ICMA launched a broader market survey to gather market feedback on the new mandate, focusing on its the scope, firms’ preparation and readiness, business/market impact, operational challenges, and areas where further regulatory clarity or industry support are needed. A total of 26 responses were received across sell-side, buy-side, ICSD, and Fintech providers. A high-level summary of the survey results can be found here.
Related news
ICMA submits letter to SEC on U.S. Treasury clearing mandate
26 February 2026 ICMA has submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to highlight the outstanding implementation challenges related to the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate for repo transactions. The letter seeks further clarification and regulatory guidance on the key issues affecting the international market participants, including the extraterritorial scope of the mandate, the inter-affiliate exemption, the treatment of triparty repos, and FICC membership and access considerations. In light of the global nature of the market, ICMA has also shared the letter with other relevant authorities. ICMA will continue to engage closely with market participants, infrastructure providers, and policymakers to support the transition to the new clearing mandate.
Contact:
Zhan Chen
Associate Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy
Direct line: +44 20 3917 3879
