Derivs - Clearing and Exchanges

Bloomberg has launched a so-called List Trading tool for interest rate swaps on its swap execution facility, enabling market participants to improve operational efficiency.

The Hong Kong Exchange has extended its After Hours Futures Trading (AHFT) session by 45 minutes for its Hang Seng Index futures, H-Shares Index futures, Mini HIS futures, Mini HHI futures and renminbi currency futures. The close of the after hours futures trading clearing session will also be extended.

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week decreased by 38% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. This follows a consistent uptick over recent weeks in CDS notional, which has seen a 160% increase over the period.

The Korea Exchange’s US Dollar Futures contract will be available after-hours on CME Group’s electronic trading platform, Globex. This will be effective from December 8 in order to provide international market participants increased access to the Korean markets.

The clearing industry could face increased systemic risk thanks to incoming Basel III regulations on capital charges if more clearing providers, or futures commission merchants as they are known in the US, are forced to close.

TriOptima has eliminated $500bn in notional principal outstanding since the launch of its cross-currency compression swap service earlier this year, and client participation has nearly doubled from 12 to 20 institutions.

Futures commission merchants (FCMs) are expected to come under increasing pressure from the buyside to reduce the clearing fees that they charge as trading volumes increase. This comes following an increase in rates charged by some FCMs in a bid to cover the rising costs of business associated with the implementation of various regulatory changes.

The Singapore Exchange has reported a 4% increase in derivatives revenues year-on-year in its first quarter results for the 2015 fiscal year. Derivatives volumes at the exchange were up 9% to 28.8 mn contracts.

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week decreased by 4% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. This follows six weeks of a consistent uptick in CDS notional, with a combined increase of 160%.

Live order book trading of market agreed coupon swaps is now trading on UBS’ electronic trading platform Neo, making it the first platform to offer an aggregated order book for MAC swaps.

Dealers are facing increasing costs when providing clearing services to pension funds amid the regulatory push to move trades to clearing houses. The lack of netting provisions for pension funds means capital charges for dealers are high, with the result that leading banks are questioning the viability of the business without a rise in clearing prices.

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week spiked by 41% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. This follows five weeks of a consistent uptick in CDS notional, with a combined increase of 119%.