Derivs - People and Markets

The burgeoning cryptocurrency market is facing new questions as a Commissioner at the US derivatives regulator asked what “actual delivery” of a digital currency meant, in the context of derivatives rules.

The chief counsel to former Commissioner Sharon Bowen, Petal Walker, followed her boss on the way out of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has laid out what it believes are the critical elements required for the governance in the provision of unique product identifiers (UPI) for the derivatives market.

Debate on the location of euro clearing flared up again this week as the Bank of England warned of “substantial risk of disruption” for the activity, while the European Commission gave its blessing to more powers for the European Central Bank over central counterparties (CCPs).

Financial counterparties in Switzerland had to start reporting derivatives trades to repositories on Monday, as required by the country's Financial Market Infrastructure Act.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) has published the final draft of the regulatory technical standard (RTS) giving details of which OTC derivatives will need to move to a trading venue when the Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFIR) is implemented in January.

A subsidiary of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) on Monday launched its offering for the creation of International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN) for over-the-counter derivatives.

The doyenne of derivatives policy in Europe, Kay Swinburne MEP, warned on Thursday that political urges in the European Union risked tainting the oversight of foreign clearing houses.

European Parliament members Jakob von Weizsäcker and Kay Swinburne published a draft report on planned central counterparty (CCP) recovery and resolution rules this week.

Equity derivatives experts do not expect equity volatility to pick up from its current low level any time soon. Some of the potential political hurdles have been overcome and some see little to trouble them until the Italian elections in the second quarter of next year.

Citi has been fined $550,000 for data reporting violations on its internal swap contracts.

BNP Paribas is extending its delta one execution and financing offering, and has hired a senior salesman from Citi to help run the initiative.