What reports do trading venue operators have to prepare and who do they have to report to?

Trading venue operators have to prepare two types of reports. A distinction must be made between the weekly – aggregated – reports to be prepared pursuant to section 57 (2) of the new version of the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG) and the daily reports to be prepared pursuant to section 57 (3) of the new version of the WpHG.

In the case of weekly reports, a breakdown has to be drawn up of the positions held in the different commodity derivatives, emission allowances or derivatives thereof traded on the trading venue.
This breakdown must include the number of long and short positions, changes thereto since the previous report, the percentage of the total open interest and the number of persons holding a position. Positions which are objectively measurable as reducing risks directly relating to a commercial activity are to be reported separately.
The information to be provided varies depending on the position holder category. A distinction is to be made between the categories of position holders based on the main business the position holder is authorised to conduct.

The regulations lay down the following categories of position holders:

• investment firms or credit institutions,
• collective investment undertakings (Investmentvermögen) within the meaning of section 1 (1) of the German Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch – KAGB), other financial institutions, including insurance undertakings and reinsurance undertakings as defined in Directive 2009/138/EC, and institutions for occupational retirement provision as defined in Directive 2003/41/EC, and
• other commercial undertakings.

Trading venue operators established in Germany have to submit weekly reports to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which will proceed to a centralised publication of the information included in those reports. In addition, trading venue operators are to make these weekly reports public.
The format of weekly reports under Article 58 (1) (a) of Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II) in conjunction with section 57 (2) of the new version of the WpHG is defined in more detail in Articles 1 and 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1093.

In the case of daily reports, a complete breakdown has to be drawn up of the positions held by all members or participants and the clients thereof on that trading venue in commodity derivatives, emission allowances or derivatives thereof.
Trading venue operators established in Germany have to submit daily reports to BaFin exclusively.
BaFin will provide more details on the format of daily reports under Article 58 (1) (b) of Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II) in conjunction with section 57 (3) of the new version of the WpHG in a statutory order.

Who is subject to the reporting obligations?

The obligation under section 57 (2) and (3) of the new version of the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG) to report to BaFin and ESMA will initially and directly concern only the operators of trading venues on which commodity derivatives, emission allowances or derivatives thereof are traded.

In order to ensure that trading venue operators are able to fulfil their reporting obligations, section 57 (1) of the new version of the WpHG requires members and participants to report to the trading venue the details of their own positions in commodity derivatives traded on that trading venue, on a daily basis, as well as those of their clients and the clients of those clients until the end client is reached. This is the only way to ensure that trading venue operators have all the information they are legally required to report to the competent authorities, such as BaFin or ESMA. The end client is the first non-financial client in the reporting chain. If there are other persons that follow, it may be advantageous for the end client to disclose their positions as well to avoid giving the impression that the end client itself has a high position.

How should trading venue operators submit reports to BaFin?

Operators of trading venues established in Germany on which commodity derivatives, emission allowances or derivatives thereof are traded are to submit daily reports in a standard XML format. A template is available for download via the following link.

When submitting reports on an ongoing basis, trading venue operators must use the reporting system set up by BaFin. This is described in more detail in the information on the specialised procedure "Position limits in commodity derivatives and reporting”. A guidance notice has also been provided for this purpose and includes the technical requirements for submitting the information required.

To make use of this specialised procedure, it is necessary to register with BaFin's reporting and publishing platform (MVP Portal).