Europe tightens derivative definitions

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has written to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to set out a broad definition of derivatives that includes foreign exchange (FX) forward contracts. This follows a letter from ESMA chair Steven Maijoor in February 2014 that requested clarification, after it appeared that the UK authorities were exempting FX forwards from the implementation of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).