Derivs - Regulation

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has fined trade repository Regis–TR €56,000 for failing to provide direct and immediate access to details of derivative contracts to regulators.

Interest rate swaps (IRS) trading platform trueEx has announced plans to close its doors after coming under pressure from an alleged bank boycott.

Language to prevent ‘net short’ debt activist investors manipulating distressed corporates to benefit CDS positions could prove ineffective in bond documentation, shutting down the changes almost as soon as they have been introduced in the market.

Members of the US House Committee on Agriculture reserved harsh words for a chief European regulator on Wednesday, in a sign that the cross-border spat over derivatives clearing has not yet subsided.

Unless the EU extends equivalence status to Swiss exchanges before the end of the week, shares from firms in one of the two jurisdictions will not be able to be traded in the other one. This could cause disruption and market fragmentation, although the exact impact is unknown.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority have added regulatory pressure to the credit default swap market, pledging to clamp down on manufactured credit events.

The European Securities and Markets Authority is asking market participants if certain factors — such as fair value accounting, remuneration of investors and credit default swaps — exacerbate short-term pressures on companies, as part of its work on sustainable finance.

The Basel committee on banking supervision has agreed to allow banks to offset the margin posted by clients in calculating the leverage ratio, marking a hard fought victory for the clearing industry.

KPMG UK has named Kay Swinburne, a central figure in the shaping of the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, as its vice-chair of financial services. Her role will be to help shape the firm’s insights on risk and regulation.

Brian Bussey, director of the Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is to step down from his position after 22 years of service.

The EU executive has opted not to take any decision on a possible extension of the equivalence status granted to the Swiss stock exchange SIX, which ends at the end of June.

A new report from the International Organisation of Securities Commissions has pointed to gaps in the way cyber standards are being applied by its members.