Europe’s securities regulator is in the early stages of a project to improve the ability of national regulators to access swaps trading data, following a troubled start for the region’s trade reporting regime.

Esma, which has direct oversight of six trade repositories that collect and store data on over-the-counter derivatives trades, has formed a taskforce to look at ways to standardise the way data is collected, and help national regulators exchange information so that they can monitor risks.