Derivs - People and Markets

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week increased by 49% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, continuing a multi-week trend of increasing notional.

BGC Partners has increased its all-cash tender offer to acquire GFI Group to $5.45 per share, representing a $.20 premium per share compared to CME Group's offer.

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive took a leap forward today with the publication of technical advice and a consultation by the European Securities and Markets Authority that set out the implementation of transparency and trading requirements to a broad range of asset classes and products.

The Financial Conduct Authority is focusing its risk-based oversight efforts in four critical areas of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation for 2015 – trade reporting quality, clearing services provision continuity from clearing members, market readiness for the clearing obligation, and the bilateral requirements for non-cleared trades. This comes as February marks the first year anniversary of trade reporting under the regulation.

The European Commission has agreed to postpone the start of the frontloading requirement for cleared interest rate derivatives as proposed in the regulatory technical standards submitted by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Banks operating with large swaps trading operations will no longer be required to relocate their trading to a separate legal entity that is not federally insured following the rollback of Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act. As a result, banks will avoid incurring significant expenses, while saving time and personnel, according to lawyers.

The implementation of a stay on the contract termination rights of derivative counterparties by global regulators could change the face of derivatives trading, forcing counterparties to look at amending their agreements away from the prevalent two-way payment system, according to lawyers.

Société Générale’s Newedge prime services business has added LCH.Clearnet’s ForexClear as a new central counterparty clearing houses to its client over-the-counter clearing offering, allowing it clients to clear non-deliverable forwards.

Despite a last minute upswing, 2014 is poised to conclude as one of the least volatile years in recent memory.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has permanently approved LCH.Clearnet as a derivatives clearing organisation under the Commodities Exchange Act, after reviewing and amending the clearing houses’s original authorisation.

TriOptima has completed the first cross currency swap compression cycle for US dollar/Turkish lira, eliminating $213 billion notional.

Volumes have nearly doubled over the past week in Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) call spreads as investors seek volatility protection, driving options premiums higher.