The prices reviewed included those published by Fastmarkets and those administered by Fastmarkets Benchmark Administration Oy (FBA Oy). FBA Oy was incorporated in Finland in December 2020 and received its Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) authorization in February 2021 to administer all benchmarks that are in scope of the BMR.
BDO carried out the independent assurance review of six of the business’ key trademarked PIX indices in pulp and recovered paper. On March 31, 2021, BDO found that Fastmarkets’ responses were in line with the IOSCO principles for PRAs. The review process is comprehensive, examining all relevant processes and documentation to ensure their quality, integrity and adherence to stated methodologies.
As per guidance by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), this assurance review by an independent external auditor is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the BMR for commodity benchmarks (paragraph 18 of Annex II). Reviews must take place at least annually.
“Fastmarkets is delighted to announce that the FOEX PIX indices have successfully achieved another assurance review,” Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani said. “The incorporation of FBA Oy and the completion of an external audit of our process demonstrates our commitment and compliance with the regulations to provide reliable, impartial, representative and transparent benchmarks for the market we serve to use in physical trading, risk management, analysis and planning purposes.”
This year’s review covered six benchmarks, two of which were new prices that received the Type 1 IOSCO accreditation. The following indices were included in the scope of the assurance:
PIX Pulp Indices (Europe)*
- PIX NBSK
- PIX BHKP
PIX Recovered Paper Indices (Europe)
- PIX OCC 1.04 dd
- PIX ONP/OMG 1.11 dd
PIX Pulp Indices (China)
- PIX NBSK
- PIX BHKP
*denotes benchmark subject to BMR
To obtain a copy of the independent assurance report, please click here.
Fastmarkets has invested significantly in resources and technology to ensure its price-assessment process aligns with IOSCO principles. View details here.
For further inquiries, please contact Katharine Kellar at katharine.kellar@fastmarkets.com.
