Derivs - Regulation

The FICC Market Standards Board has released its final standard for conduct in new issue hedging, following a consultation launched in October last year.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has encouraged competent authorities to “not prioritise” penalising pension funds as the regulator prepares for a period where the institutions will not be granted an exemption from clearing their derivatives.

The Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB) has reached out to European trading venues and banks to hash out an acceptable fee model for its regulatory services in a new consultation published on Monday.

The ECB outlined how its planned replacement for Euribor, the Ester rate, will work, in a release published on Thursday. The new rate will begin publication from October next year.

A report by Rabobank on Monday highlighted concerns over the feasibility of central clearing for pension funds, saying that the institutions faced more liquidity risks as European rules are phased in.

Pan-European securities regulator ESMA on Wednesday said that it would not extend the deadline for firms trading on European venues to get a legal entity identifier. The deadline for LEIs will remain July 2.

The Bank of England has released a new working paper on the impact of the leverage ratio for derivatives, arguing that the ratio had a “disincentivising effect” on client clearing for the period evaluated, confirming the views of many industry participants.

European member states and the EU Parliament will soon begin difficult talks to decide the length of an additional clearing exemption for pension funds.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday made public its worries about cryptocurrency crime, advising banks on how they could properly scrutinise clients involved in the nascent sector.

Cryptocurrency regulation won't be harmonised across jurisdictions, said two panellists at a Futures Industry Association conference in London this week.

Top officials from global supervisory bodies furiously debated the implications of new European rules that change the oversight of foreign clearing houses, covering the role of central banks, national regulators and arrangements in crisis situations.

Larry Thompson, vice-chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, on Tuesday suggested that populist rhetoric in the US might be overshadowing President Trump's strong choices of leaders in independent financial oversight agencies.