Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Conflicts of interest

12. The administrator of a commodity benchmark shall establish adequate policies and procedures for the identification, disclosure, management or mitigation and avoidance of any conflict of interest and the protection of integrity and independence of calculations. Those policies and procedures shall be reviewed and updated regularly and shall:

(a)

ensure that benchmark calculations are not influenced by the existence of, or potential for, a commercial or personal business relationship or interest between the administrator or its affiliates, its personnel, clients, any market participant or persons connected with them;

(b)

ensure that personal interests and business connections of the administrator's personnel are not permitted to compromise the administrator's functions, including outside employment, travel, and acceptance of entertainment, gifts and hospitality provided by the administrator's clients or other commodity market participants;

(c)

ensure, in respect of identified conflicts, appropriate segregation of functions within the administrator by way of supervision, compensation, systems access and information flows;

(d)

protect the confidentiality of information submitted to or produced by the administrator, subject to the disclosure obligations of the administrator;

(e)

prohibit managers, assessors and other employees of the administrator from contributing to a benchmark calculation by way of engaging in bids, offers and trades on either a personal basis or on behalf of market participants; and

(f)

effectively address any identified conflict of interest which may exist between the administrator's provision of a benchmark (including all employees who perform or otherwise participate in benchmark calculation responsibilities), and any other business of the administrator.

13. The administrator of a commodity benchmark shall ensure that its other business operations have in place appropriate procedures and mechanisms designed to minimise the likelihood that a conflict of interest will affect the integrity of benchmark calculations.

14. The administrator of a commodity benchmark shall ensure that it has in place segregated reporting lines amongst its managers, assessors and other employees and from the managers to the administrator's most senior level management and its board to ensure:

(a)

that the administrator satisfactorily implements the requirements of this Regulation; and

(b)

that responsibilities are clearly defined and do not conflict or cause a perception of conflict.

15. The administrator of a commodity benchmark shall disclose to its users as soon as it becomes aware of a conflict of interest arising from the ownership of the administrator.