Derivs - Regulation

Derivatives accountants have defended new proposals released by the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, after the International Swaps and Derivatives Association yesterday opposed new rules for the reporting of derivatives in financial statements.

The Japan Financial Services Agency plans to begin taxing over-the-counter derivatives used by individual investors the same way as their listed counterparts, meaning gains will get charged a flat 20% instead of being lumped into general income where gains could be taxed as much as 50%.

The Malaysia Securities Commission has released proposed rules that would widen several investor definitions for investment products, including structured products.

The European Structured Investment Products Association has urged the European Commission to conduct a study for the development of a so-called risk classification system for packaged retail investment products, such as structured products, that is separate from UCITS risk classifications set out by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

The recently-approved new over-the-counter derivative rules from the China Banking Regulatory Commission will open the derivatives market to asset managers as well as dealers, according to a report by Allen & Overy lawyers.

Banks that expect to register as swap dealers or major swap participants, but already are subject to a prudential regulator’s risk management standards, should be allowed to comply with these rather than new standards planned by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

An all-to-all format of pricing and trading over-the-counter derivative swaps could lead to a flash crash in the interest rates market, according to Peter Fisher, vice chairman at BlackRock.

Regulators need to allow derivative endusers the opportunity to opt-out of utilizing an omnibus style clearing account with its clearinghouse in a swap post-Dodd-Frank, said Roger Liddell, ceo of LCH.Clearnet at TabbForum’s Derivatives Reform: Preparing for Change conference yesterday in New York.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has written to the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to express fears over plans for the registration of non-U.S. swap data repositories.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will likely have to delegate some Dodd-Frank Act implementation to self-regulating organizations and not necessarily just the National Futures Association, according to Commissioner Scott O’Malia.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved more lenient rules for the use of credit derivatives.

The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission plans to evaluate creating an over-the-counter derivative central counterparty.