Derivs - Regulation

The New York state bill banning naked credit default swaps, where the user of the derivative has no economic interest in the underlying debt securities, and that would force the sellers of CDS to be licensed insurance carriers, reached the state assembly this morning.

The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 13-8 to send the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010, penned by Chairman Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), to the full senate.

A provision in the recently released Senate Agriculture Committee bill would impose a fiduciary duty on swap dealers transacting with municipalities and pension plans, and many industry players say this could destroy the already shaky market.

E.U. politicians have called on the European Commission to require at least 80% of derivatives to be centrally cleared.

The U.K.’s Financial Services Authority expects further clarification on how the imminent capital requirements directive’s due diligence measures deal with trading and banking books taking positions in structured finance.

In the wake of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint against Goldman Sachs, some market participants are asking why the rating agencies had not caught the poor quality of the portfolio sooner.

Henry Hu, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new division overseeing risk, strategy and financial innovation, told Derivatives Week he has been working closely with other SEC units, such as enforcement, and that he is deepening the unit’s bench of experts to stay on top of new structures. The interview, by Managing Editor Katy Burne, also features Adam Glass, the division’s co-chief counsel.

Hotly anticipated over-the-counter derivatives legislation from Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has just been released, and judging by the commercial end-user exemption to an otherwise mandatory clearing requirement, it looks as if end-user lobbyists had an impact in the final hours before its release.

Five-year credit default swap spreads on major investment banks gapped out dramatically today after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Goldman Sachs of securities fraud.

The newly formed Swaps and Derivatives Markets Association, which is lobbying for equal access to central counterparty clearing platforms where bulge-bracket dealers have a virtual monopoly, were in Washington, D.C., this week making their case to legislators.

Derivatives officials say the idea being floated in some circles of spinning off swaps desks isn’t feasible and jars with other expected provisions of the forthcoming Senate Agriculture Committee bill.

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposals for regulating the over-the-counter derivatives market, which Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) said would be released today, will now come out Friday at the earliest because the legislative language is not yet finished, according to a Committee spokeswoman.