Derivs - People and Markets

IHS Markit will not overhaul the iTraxx Europe credit default swap index at the September roll next week to address UK bank debt regulations, say analysts, but the index operator will look at whether to change its rules in the near future.

The US Commodity Trading Futures Commission's split over whether to accept Japan's uncleared margin rules as equivalent to the US was not an ideal outcome. But the decision, however contentious, is a pragmatic step which will motivate further convergence between regulatory regimes.

European Union wheat futures contracts began trading this week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, with as much as 20,000 metric tons worth of contracts having been transacted on Monday according to the firm.

trueEX, the interest rate swap trading platform, has added BNP Paribas as a market maker, taking its pool of global derivatives dealers to 21.

Icap has promoted a senior official to run its EBS BrokerTec fixed income electronic trading division.

Stoxx has licensed its newly created iStoxx FactSet Thematic Indices to BlackRock’s iShares to provide the underlying for four exchange traded funds.

truePTS, a post-trade service provider for derivatives processing, has unveiled truePTS Counterparty Manager, a counterparty data management solution developed in partnership with LEI Smart.

Last week’s rollout of margin rules for uncleared swaps in the US, Canada and Japan has been characterised by some participants as a ‘mad scramble’ that was lucky to muddle across the finish line without disaster. But having observed the challenges the US faced, European regulators must think carefully about how they implement their own margin deadlines, sources have warned.

CME Group has expanded its reach in both Asia and Latin America, with Hong Kong and Mexico recognising the firm as a central counterparty (CCP).

The US Commodity Trading Futures Commission (CTFC) is divided over derivative rules as it agreed by split vote on Thursday to accept substituted compliance comparability for Japan uncleared margin rules. And one of its three commissioners, Sharon Bowen, raised a number of concerns for systemic financial risk as she voted against the motion.

Emerging market economic growth managed to hang on to much of its momentum over August, according to the latest release of the IHS Markit Emerging Market Composite PMI index.

Eris Exchange, the US-based futures exchange group, has opened a London office and hired a long-serving Barclays banker to oversee the European operations.