In the Regulatory equivalent of a pair of socks- necessary, entirely expected, but still welcome; the ESAs have today delivered an early Christmas present to Heads of Compliance in a draft Revised RTS echoing the July 2019 BCBS/IOSCO IM mitigation. Initial Margin          A revised article 36(1) instantiates the BCBS/IOSCO recommended bifurcation into two remaining IM […]

The transition away from Libor On 19 November 2019, the FCA published a Q&A document regarding conduct risk during the transition away from LIBOR.  As the FCA notes, the discontinuation of LIBOR will affect many firms, in terms of: developing and offering new products linked to risk-free rates; assessing and reducing their own and clients’ […]

US’ Prudential Regulators (FDIC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, FHFA and FCA) have become the latest to issue a proposal for amending Swap Margin Requirements. The CFTC was the first regulator to adopt the BCBS’ mitigation recommendations, staggering the ‘Big Bang’ Phase 5 and 6 thresholds, so it was only a matter of time for the […]

The latest IM deadline passed at the start of this month without fanfare, and larger firms were able to breathe their fourth sigh of relief. A year from now, the challenge will not be as “easy”. In Phase 4, approximately 35 firms fell in-scope of the €750 bn threshold. Updated numbers for Phase 5 show […]

Earlier this week, the Chief Executive of the FCA, Andrew Bailey provided us with a recent update about the current state of affairs regarding Brexit. As is fast becoming the norm in Bailey’s Brexit updates, he opened his speech with the progress that has been made thus far; the Temporary Transitional Power regime; the signing […]

Parliament might be prorogued, and clarity on Brexit might still seem an unobtainable goal, but the FCA’s enthusiasm is far from waning. Keen to apply pressure on firms, the FCA is ramping up their efforts to help companies prepare for the impending 31 October deadline. In their recent press release, the FCA announced that they […]

Highlander 1986, “There can be only one!” or for a younger generation, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or die”. Risk magazine reports that MarginXchange (MX) has retired from the fray, leaving an open (if depleted) field for its erstwhile rival ISDACreate (IC). MX was established by the triumvirate of Allen & Overy, […]

In May 2019, ISDA launched two consultations: one addressing adjustments to fallback rates if IBORs are permanently discontinued, and another to address the pre-cessation of LIBOR and other IBORs. The operationally imminent cessation of LIBOR can hardly be classified as breaking news. The light shone by the 2008 financial crash fatally exposed the benchmark’s fragility, […]

US regulators have disclosed the much awaited revision of the Volcker Rule that had been taken on by the Trump administration. Wall Street has undoubtedly received a huge win, but who is likely to bear the losses? The Volcker Rule was implemented after the financial crash to stop banks from engaging in proprietary trading (buying […]