Derivs - People and Markets

Interoperability between clearinghouses will have to be driven by market developments rather than mandates by regulators, according to panelists speaking about the big picture of clearing at the International Derivatives Expo in London today.

Trade repositories will need to aggregate data in a way the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission finds useful and is not overwhelming, the CFTC told the Association for Financial Markets in Europe in a recent meeting.

The requirement to centrally clear intra-group transactions will be a major burden for commodities firms that are global by nature, said speakers on the commodity derivatives regulation panel this morning at the International Derivatives Expo in London.

Martin Wheatley, the departing chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, said reform of the over-the-counter derivatives market would be a key challenge for his successor, but noted that Hong Kong was already ahead of many jurisdictions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will delay its decision on whether to approve the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s SPXpm filing, a proposed new options offering structured off the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Aviva Investors has launched the Aviva Investors Defined Returns Fund 10, a collateralized capital protected OEIC.

Deutsche Bank has teamed up with ICAP to debut Eurex ICAP Swap Spreads, a benchmark for euro interest rate swaps.

PSigma Investment Management has announced it will launch a global equity income fund June 17.

Online trading specialist Saxo Bank has debuted ForexTrading.com, an fx trading platform for retail investors.

Thomson Reuters has announced that it is leaving the fx options matching business after five years.

Asia will provide a major opportunity for growth for derivative exchanges but significant challenges remain, noted exchange heads on a panel on exchange views at the FIA/FOA International Derivatives Expo in London this morning.

Mandatory clearing applied indiscriminately across markets will increase systemic risk, according to Alexander Justham, director of markets at the U.K. Financial Services Authority.