The Office of Financial Research (OFR) adopted a Final Rule to improve transparency within the U.S. repurchase agreement (repo) market by establishing a data collection for non-centrally cleared bilateral transactions.

This data collection requires daily reporting to the OFR by U.S. covered reporters with large exposures to the non-centrally cleared bilateral repo (NCCBR) market. The collected data will be used to support the work of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council), its member agencies, and the OFR to identify and monitor risks to financial stability.

“After receiving recommendations from the Council and others to obtain better data on the NCCBR market—currently the largest of the four repo market segments—the OFR set out to establish a permanent NCCBR data collection. The OFR consulted with the Council, held extensive discussions with market participants, successfully completed a pilot data collection, and carefully considered public comments on our proposal,” said James Martin, Acting Director of the OFR. “The OFR’s permanent data collection will shine a spotlight into this opaque corner of the financial market, provide high-quality data on NCCBR transactions, and remove a significant blind spot for financial regulators.”

The Final Rule will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.  It establishes two categories of financial companies subject to reporting, a timeline for submission of data depending on the category of covered reporter, and a number of specific data elements required to be reported.

For the specific requirements applicable to covered reporters, along with instructions and guidance relating to submission mechanics, visit our NCCBR page.