Capital market infrastructure: NSSMC presented the concept of a new law and discussed it with market participants

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission held a public presentation of the draft concept for the Law of Ukraine “On Financial Market Infrastructure.” The concept had been prepared with technical support from the EBRD in collaboration with legal advisors from Ernst & Young.

The concept outlines the approaches to modernizing the capital markets infrastructure and aligning it with the EU model. Specifically, it addresses rules governing settlement systems for transactions with financial instruments, development of clearing infrastructure, operations of the central securities depository and central counterparties, as well as up-to-date risk management mechanisms.

The draft law is being prepared as part of the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with EU law in the area of capital markets infrastructure. Specifically, this concerns rules on settlement finality, financial collateral, derivatives clearing, and the activities of central securities depositories. Commission member Maksym Libanov noted that the drafting of this bill is part of Ukraine’s EU integration process.

“This project is based on our European integration commitments. Ukraine is required to implement a number of European Union regulations governing financial market infrastructure, and these regulations form the basis of the future draft law,” he said.

During the discussion, market participants addressed the practical implications of the upcoming changes, the operation of settlement systems, and the interaction between various infrastructure components. They also specifically raised the issue of the timeline for implementing the new rules and how the market will be able to adapt to the European infrastructure model.

According to Maksym Libanov, following this presentation, the market will have an opportunity to send its proposals and comments.

“Today’s presentation marks the first public discussion of the concept. We plan to give the market time to provide feedback and suggestions, after which we will finalize the document and move on to preparing the text of the draft law,” he added.

The Commission will accept comments and suggestions from market participants until 27 March.

You can view the presentation materials regarding the draft law’s concept, as well as the full text of the concept, by following these links.