The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is petitioning the Czech Republic and Slovakia to allow close-out netting. Peter Warner, assistant director of European policy at ISDA in London, said it had meetings in the two countries last week and expects both countries to pass legislation by year-end.
The meetings come hot on the heels of Hungary allowing passing legislation (see Learning Curve, page 6) and Poland allowing close-out netting for Polish firms last month. Warner said it is focusing its attention on countries scheduled to join the European Union.
Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice in Slovakia told ISDA they will include the ISDA proposals in an insolvency act, which the government wants to pass before the national election in September, according to Warner. However, the situation is not as advanced in the Czech Republic, as it has an election in the summer and there is not the political will to drive the proposals through before the election, said Warner.
