Author Archives: CCP12

In-scope Firms Request Delay to Phase 5&6 Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) in Lieu of COVID-19

The European Commission (EC) has stated it will proceed as planned with phase five and six of the uncleared margin requirement for non-centrally cleared derivatives, despite industry participants urging the EC to defer compliance until markets stabilize or set new deadlines following the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott O’Malia from the International Swaps […]

The ECB Considers Plans to Provide Central Banking Access to European-Based CCPs

European-based CCPs without banking licenses may be able to gain access to the European Central Bank (ECB) services following a possible shift to open up account facilities. Unencumbered access to the ECB would enable European CCPs without banking licenses to increase risk management and have even more stability as systemically important nodes in the financial […]

CFTC Approves Amendments to Part 30.10 of the CFTC Regulations

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has confirmed an amendment to part 30.10 of the CFTC regulations which oversees the sale of non-US based futures and options contracts to customers located within the United States. For over 30 years the CFTC has provided the platform for foreign based participants to gain access to U.S. customers […]

UK’s Post-Brexit EU Market Access Comes under Scrutiny and Complicates the US Trade Deal

Amidst the UK’s process to gain regulatory equivalence and market access with the EU post-Brexit, Britain may be jeopardizing vital opportunities with the US and other regions who require the UK to maintain flexibility with international partners. Following key discussions during the EU Financial Affairs committee at the House of Lords last week on March […]

EU May Exclude Initial Margin Haircuts from Resolution Tools

The Council of the European Union approved on November 27, 2019, its proposal for the regulation of recovery and resolution of central counterparties. In words of the Finnish Minister of Finance, the Council’s position is to set out EU-wide rules to address interconnectedness and contagion risks while encouraging less risky behaviour by market participants. One […]

Costs and Benefits of Switching to Central Clearing

The BIS published in December a research paper on costs and benefits of switching to central clearing, depicting the imbalances on the rate of voluntary clearing among those derivatives not subject to mandatory clearing. In particular, the authors focus on the volumes of non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) versus credit default swaps (CDS). According to the analysis, […]