Derivs - People and Markets

The benchmarking arm of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) opened an online portal on Wednesday that gives market participants information on alternative risk-free rates designed to replace the Ibors, as well as forward-looking term rates based on the sterling overnight index average (Sonia).

The Bank of England, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and a number of other industry trade bodies from across Europe have piled pressure on the European Union to deal with the risks of a disorderly Brexit for derivatives contracts.

Steven Maijoor, the head of pan-European securities regulator ESMA, on Wednesday called for European firms' continued access to UK clearing houses (CCPs) after Brexit, to address potentially massive disruption to markets.

Paul Fulcher, who previously worked in asset-liability management (ALM) structuring and insurance solutions at Nomura, has joined Milliman.

UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chair Charles Randell invoked ancient Greek mythology during a speech on Tuesday in which he said that the FCA did not see Brexit as an “opportunity to join a race to the bottom in regulatory standards”.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday unveiled a much touted white paper on how the organisation's chairman, Christopher Giancarlo, would like to overhaul US oversight of foreign swaps markets.

Pan-European securities watchdog ESMA on Friday announced that it would renew its restrictive measures for contracts for difference (CFD) products for another three months.

Five trade bodies began lobbying efforts on initial margin phase-in in earnest this week, warning global regulators of severe consequences if incoming rules are not amended.

Karel Lannoo, the chief executive of the Centre for European Policy Studies, indicated that he was optimistic about the prospects of an equivalency agreement on the oversight of clearing houses between the United Kingdom and EU 27 after Brexit.

The chair of the influential UK Treasury select committee, Nicky Morgan, told a conference of derivatives bankers, lawyers and regulators, that despite the threat of “serious problems” for cross-border derivatives contracts in a Brexit no-deal scenario, she was “reasonably confident that a no deal scenario will not cause the whole sector to fall over”.

Financial services veteran Marshall Bailey has been appointed chair of LCH Group, the clearing firm majority owned by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

Mizuho has hired Mark Currie from Deutsche Bank as head of sterling rates trading.