It looks as if June 23, 2016 will be another day that will live in infamy. Some of the infamous ripples from the Brexit crisis are making their way across the pond to the United States. Key industry organizations, regulators and securities firms are taking initial actions, formulating strategies and watching with interest as the… Read More >>
CFTC Issues Final Rule for Cleared Swaps Reporting
The CFTC reports that it has approved a final rule meant to bring “additional clarity” to existing cleared swaps reporting regulations and procedures. The rule codifies reporting obligations for counterparties and registered entities and improves the “efficiency of data collection and maintenance associated with the reporting,” the CFTC says. The commission’s own detailed analysis of… Read More >>
CFTC Penalizes Bitfinex $75K for Illegal Transactions
The CFTC has ordered online bitcoin exchange Bitfinex to pay $75,000, settling charges that it offered illegal off-exchange financed retail commodity transactions in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and that it failed to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM). The bitcoin exchange says in its own statement that it “proactively contacted the CFTC in September… Read More >>
CFTC Approvals Raise Number of SEFs to 21
CFTC Finalizes Registration for GTX, Tera and FTSEF The CFTC has given its stamp of approval to three swap execution facilities (SEFs): the GTX SEF (GTX) of Bedminster, N.J.; TeraExchange, (Tera) of Summit, N.J.; and FTSEF (FTSEF) of Great Neck, N.Y., bringing the number of fully CFTC-registered SEFs to 21. The regulatory action finalizes approval… Read More >>
Citi to Pay $425M to Settle Benchmark Abuse Cases
Banking giant Citi and some of its key affiliates have agreements with the CFTC to settle the regulator’s investigations into alleged abuses of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), the Euroyen Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate (Euroyen Tibor) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (Isdafix) interest rates swaps benchmarks. “Separately, Citi is charged with… Read More >>
CFTC Wants a Game-Changer for Swaps Data Reporting
The CFTC is working hard to refine the swaps data reporting process and hopes that those changes and subsequent data harmonization internationally will be a game-changer for the derivatives industry, reports Petal Walker, chief counsel for CFTC Commissioner Sharon Bowen. Walker, who spoke at FTF’s DerivOps North America conference in Chicago last month, says that… Read More >>
Eurex Clearing Applies TriOptima’s Portfolio Compression
Eurex Clearing Implements triReduce Post-trade infrastructure provider TriOptima announced that Eurex Clearing members recently completed the first successful triReduce compression cycle for cleared euro (EUR) interest rate swaps (IRS), officials say. “Portfolio compression” reduces the size of an existing over-the-counter, interest rate swaps portfolio “with respect to the number of trades and notional through early… Read More >>
ICBC Standard Bank to Streamline KYC Ops
London-based financial markets and commodities bank, ICBC Standard Bank, has selected Fenergo, a provider of know your customer (KYC) services, to meet global compliance requirements and to make improvements in operational efficiency, bank and officials say. In February 2015, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) acquired a controlling stake in Standard Bank’s… Read More >>
DTCC and ISDA Bolster Their Boards via New Members
DTCC Elects Three New Board Members The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) reports that three new members, all senior executives at clearing agencies, have been elected to its board of directors. They are: Lester Owens, managing director and global head of wholesale banking operations at JPMorgan; Paul Simpson, managing director and global head of… Read More >>
ISDA Offers Help for Uncleared Derivatives Margining
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has published the first in a series of documents to help market participants comply with new margining requirements for non-cleared derivatives, officials say. The 2016 Credit Support Annex for Variation Margin (VM) is described as an update of the 1994 ISDA Credit Support Annex (CSA) that will allow… Read More >>
