Derivs - Regulation

iShares, the exchange-traded funds provider managed by BlackRock, has proposed tougher transparency and disclosure requirements in ETF products, including best practices related to swaps and counterparty exposure.

The U.K. Financial Services Authority today released a consultation paper on changes it plans to make to guidance on what financial resources recognized exchanges and clearinghouses should have.

The swap execution facilities market are having to wait on regulators to define a key part of the rules before they can hammer out governance and compliance structures, according to panelists at the Wholesale Market Brokers’ Association’s SEFCON II conference in New York yesterday.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler was unable to provide any further clarity on whether or not voice broking will continue in the over-the-counter derivatives market once swap execution facilities and pre-trade transparency are implemented.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have differences in their Dodd-Frank rulemaking proposals that are concerning market participants. CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler today said some differences are unavoidable.

The implementation date for the Dodd-Frank clearing mandate is in the hands of the clearinghouses and will likely be at the start of the second quarter next year, said Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a keynote speech at the Wholesale Market Brokers’ Association SEFCON II conference in New York today.

India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to allow insurance companies to invest in derivatives for hedging risks only.

Fear over the rapid development of central counterparties was singled out as the area of major concern as Asia and other regions move forward with derivatives regulations, according to speakers at Futures and Options World Derivatives World Asia 2011 conference in Singapore today.

Industry groups have begun to pressure the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to smooth out the differences between its planned business conduct rules for swaps entities and less onerous ones proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency is taking a careful approach to implementing changes to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to ensure mandatory clearing of cross-border trades follows developments in Europe and the U.S. closely, according to market officials.

Due diligence on central counterparties is key to the risk management of clearing members and their clients, according to a panel at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s European conference in London yesterday.

Regulators forcing interoperability on clearinghouses may increase the contagion risk G20 leaders hoped to avoid by moving to centralized clearing in the first place, according to panelists at today’s International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s annual European conference in London.