Derivs - Regulation

Structured products sales in Taiwan, through private banking channels, are picking up well from a practical standstill in the second half of 2009, market observers are saying.

A coalition of industry groups, including the Association for Financial Markets in Europe and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, has expressed concerns about a single reporting regime for both transaction and position reporting on over-the-counter derivatives based on reporting through trade repositories.

The Life & Longevity Markets Association will release today a framework for a longevity index, which will be the basis for a tradable index the organization intends to create.

Jason Kastner, vice chairman of the Swaps and Derivatives Markets Association, spent most of today’s market roundtable in Washington, D.C., playing devil’s advocate, arguing against other market participants for open access to clearing, ownership limits on clearinghouses and a separation of clearing and execution.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how registered funds make alternative investment decisions.

Banning flash orders in the options market could cause another flash crash, a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association committee has warned.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should make sure to take into account collateralization when setting the threshold for who counts as a major swap participant, according to Philip McBride Johnson, of counsel with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and a former head of the CFTC.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how registered funds make alternative investment decisions.

Limiting a clearinghouse member’s exposure to the CCP could limit that CCP’s ability to mitigate risk and manage a systemic failure in the event of a default, according to the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation.

Amendments to client category changes for complex products under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive could create a complicated regulatory regime and lead to higher costs for investment firms, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association.

The increase in renminbi products permitted in Hong Kong will aid the creation of an offshore renminbi-linked over-the-counter derivatives market, according to lawyers and market practitioners.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has given firms an extra hour to process and submit certain instructions on exercising standardized options on the last business day before they expire.