On May 10, 2013, ISDA® published its 2013 Reporting Protocol and related documents, which allow parties to amend the terms of their ISDA Master Agreements (or any other agreement governing the terms of their derivative transactions) to address restrictions on a party's ability to comply with swap data reporting requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act and EMIR.

The Reporting Protocol documents include:

The Reporting Protocol aims to assist parties in overcoming limitations to disclosure of certain non-public information relating to their derivative contracts as they attempt to comply with Dodd-Frank and EMIR swap data reporting rules that require disclosure of some of this information. Existing statutory, regulatory or contractual obligations may present obstacles to parties looking to comply with these rules. The Reporting Protocol provides for counterparty consent to disclosure of restricted information by the reporting party (for information on which is the reporting party under final Dodd-Frank swap data reporting rules, see Practice Note, US Derivatives Regulation: Practical Guide to Over-the-Counter (OTC) Swap Data Reporting: Box, Which Is the Reporting Party?

In order to adhere to the Reporting Protocol, each adhering party must:

Parties that do not wish to adhere to the Reporting Protocol but prefer to amend the bilateral terms of their derivatives agreements may use one of the two side letters (one version for principal and one for agent), which parties can enter into bilaterally and which contain the same consent provisions found in the protocol.

Once ISDA approves and accepts the signed letter, it will send a confirmation e-mail and post a conformed copy on its website. ISDA retains the executed copy for its files. The Reporting Protocol amendments are effective between the two adhering parties on the date the second adherence letter is accepted by ISDA.

The Reporting Protocol is intended to be more generic than the ISDA Dodd-Frank Protocol (see Practice Note, The ISDA Dodd-Frank Protocol) or the EMIR Protocol. The Protocol will be open to both ISDA members and non-members until ISDA designates a closing date by giving 30 days' notice on the ISDA website.