There was a flux in the attendance of distressed buysiders at the Loan Syndications and Trading Association's (LSTA) question and answer session for its newly revised trade confirmation forms last week. These types of events are usually restricted to members, but the LSTA wanted to open its doors to non-members to facilitate the implementation of the new forms.
"Certainly the delayed settlement is much more of an issue for the distressed market," said Jane Summers, LSTA general counsel. "To continue to make strides toward settlement, we need to see participation by the distressed buyside and are gratified that they turned out [last Tuesday]," she added. The LSTA focused on revising trade confirmations as a way to streamline trade settlement and reduce settlement times. The effective date for the new trade confirmations has been delayed beyond March 1. The new trade confirmations should now become effective mid March. The LSTA will also be posting a summary of the issues that will be subjected to refinement, due to the feedback they received at the question and answer session, on its Web site.