The European Banking Authority will start central validation of the ISDA SIMM model on 1 March 2026, establishing a new operational framework for supervisory oversight across the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) will commence the central validation of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Standard Initial Margin Model (ISDA SIMM) on 1 March 2026.
The Decision on arrangements for ISDA SIMM validation, published today, outlines the operational framework for the validation function, including onboarding, application procedures, governance, cooperation mechanisms, and ongoing monitoring criteria.
This initiative is part of the EBA’s role under the amended European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) to establish an EU-level validation function for pro forma initial margin models used in non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives.
The validation function is now operational and ready to start on 1 March 2026. The Decision detailing operational arrangements also takes effect on this date.
The EBA has collected data from financial and non-financial counterparties using ISDA SIMM following a data collection launched on 7 November 2025. In the first phase, these counterparties will be contacted for onboarding. The second phase, beginning in August 2026, will involve submitting applications for validation.
Legal basis: Article 11(12a) and Article 89(13) of EMIR. The EBA will publicly announce the setup of the validation function as mandated.
