Derivs - Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to review the extent and nature of derivatives usage by mutual funds and exchange traded funds has created a sweet spot for those already holding an exemption to the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The European Banking Federation has called on European lawmakers to focus on better policing of derivatives rather than slapping bans on products such as credit default swaps.

The illiquid nature of loans delivered into the auction to settle credit default swaps referencing Japanese lender Aiful on Thursday played a major role in raising the final result, credit analysts at Deutsche Bank believe.

Regulatory supervisors in Europe and the U.S. should resist the extensive lobbying of banks when trying to overhaul the over-the-counter derivatives market, according to Fraser Cowie, executive director of global business development for NYSE Liffe.

Dealers are trashing trade union claims they are making big bucks off munis entering floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps.

A key task this year for China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors is the development of better credit risk management tools, said Guanghua Feng, deputy secretary of NAFMII, in a keynote address at Euromoney Seminars’ 7th Annual China Derivatives Summit in Beijing on Thursday.

Only around 80 institutions have signed up to the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors’ master agreement since its launch last March (DW, 3/18/09).

The European Commission is collecting data from retail investors and financial institutions as it contemplates a requirement for issuers to disclose their hedging practices when marketing structured products.

Credit Suisse has applied for approval to distribute a retail structured product onshore in Taiwan.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.’s warehouse for credit derivatives data has changed its policy for disseminating information to global regulators by starting to release counterparty information on credit default swaps trading, even without user consent.

Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), the duo who have been working on a bipartisan amendment to Senator Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) over-the-counter derivatives reform bill, are expected to have an input in the legislation before it goes to a vote on the Senate floor.

The Malaysian Securities Commission is considering expanding retail access to structured products, despite the Lehman Brothers mini-bond debacle that scared off many Asian investors.