Hong Kong’s central bank and securities regulator said they will proceed with proposed amendments to clearing rules for over-the-counter derivative transactions, after a joint consultation received broad market support.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued consultation conclusions on standardizing the calculation periods for each year under the city’s OTC derivatives regulatory regime.
Respondents expressed broad support for the proposed approach to accommodate future Calculation Periods and the corresponding Prescribed Days under the Clearing Rules, the regulators said.
There was a general consensus that the proposal increases certainty on the clearing obligation, enabling more effective internal planning for market participants.
The HKMA and SFC consulted the public in early 2026 on proposals to designate, once and for all, standard calculation periods for each year with effect from March 1, 2027.
The move is intended to improve on the current approach, under which the existing list of calculation periods specified in the Clearing Rules needs to be updated by legislative amendments regularly to facilitate the central clearing of OTC derivative transactions.
The regulators said they will proceed with the legislative process to introduce the proposed amendments and aim to bring them into effect on March 1, 2027, the starting date of the proposed new series of Calculation Periods.
Under the proposed approach, the Clearing Rules will designate two calendar periods — March 1 to May 31 and Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 — in each year as calculation periods from March 2027 onwards.
Under the Clearing Rules, a calculation period is used to determine whether a person is subject to a mandatory clearing obligation, based on the size of its applicable position in relevant OTC derivative transactions for a specified period.
