Derivs - Interest Rate

The chairman of the European Securities and Market Authority, Steven Maijoor, has complained of a mismatch in the treatment of EU central counterparties by other regulatory authorities versus that of overseas CCPs operating in the EU, at a time when a change of US regulatory direction appears imminent.

TP Icap, the interdealer brokerage arising from the recently merged Tullett Prebon and Icap, has made its first senior hire of the year, to replace chief operating officer Ken Pigaga, who is leaving.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has settled a charge of spoofing in the US Treasury futures market with Citigroup, resulting in an order to pay a $25m civil monetary penalty.

The derivatives market obtained its strongest sign yet that US regulations are soon to move in a more trading friendly direction, with J Christopher Giancarlo not only confirming that he is the acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission but also indicating that he will soften rules governing variation margin posting and swap execution facilities.

Despite the PBoC having injected a record amount of funds into China's financial system this week, liquidity concerns are rising ahead of the Chinese New Year break. The fixings pushed higher and shorter NDIRS were well bid on Wednesday morning. Looking forward though sources see limited scope for further upside, writes Deirdre Yeung of Total Derivatives.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has appointed a head of compliance for its European Global Trade Repository (GTR) business.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given LCH.Clearnet and its clearing members permission to portfolio margin customer positions.

Supervisory and regulatory frameworks in Turkey and New Zealand can be regarded as equivalent to those in the European Union, according to details of a European Commission report released by the European Banking Authority.

Mizuho International, the securities and investment banking arm of Mizuho Financial Group, has hired an experienced banker to lead its European derivatives risk solutions business.

Wrangles over the future of euro interest rate swap clearing after Brexit were revived this week, with both European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and outgoing US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Timothy Massad suggesting that the EU should maintain oversight of the UK market. Meanwhile, two London-based executives argued that the UK should extend its EU exit process to five years to avoid losing swaps business to the US.

Tradeweb Markets, the New York based electronic fixed income, derivatives and exchange-traded fund marketplace operator, has unveiled a service that allows market participants to meet post-trade transparency requirements mandated by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has issued a consultation paper on the fees that will be payable after the introduction of ISIN numbers for over-the-counter derivatives.