Some practitioners consider a long-form confirmation to be a confirmation that sets out, in full, all the terms and provisions applicable to a transaction[1] (Type 1).  Others consider a long-form confirmation to be one which deems an underlying ISDA Master Agreement to exist in circumstances where an actual ISDA Master Agreement has not been executed […]

On 18 September 2014, the FSB published a report on “Jurisdictions’ ability to defer to each other’s OTC derivatives market regulatory regimes”. The FSB member jurisdictions were asked by the FSB Chairman to unlock the secrets of each other`s framework for making equivalency or comparability decisions on matters such as trade reporting, central clearing and […]

On 10 September 2014, the Presidency of the Council of the EU published its first compromise proposal for regulation on benchmarks. This last version reveals a variety of adjustments since the original proposal published in September a year ago. Although some changes result in a lighter bite for certain benchmark administrators, Brussels is sharpening the knives […]

The five leading US regulatory agencies, collectively referred to as the “prudential regulators”[1], met yesterday to finalise the US iteration of the Basel III Liquidity Coverage Ratio, to adopt a supplementary leverage ratio rule and to propose new margin requirements for uncleared swaps. Liquidity Coverage Ratio– a deleveraging rule to protect financial institutions from temporary […]

ESMA has issued a short paper containing Guidelines and Recommendations regarding national authorities’ implementation of the CPSS-IOSCO Principles for Market Infrastructure (PFMIs) in respect of Art. 22(1) EMIR- supervision of CCPs. In a belated realisation that the “operative language” of EMIR is not fully consonant with that of the PFMIs, ESMA has rushed out a […]

On 1 August 2014, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) formally assumed the role of ISDAFIX administrator. IBA confirmed that ISDAFIX will undergo major changes by moving from a polled submission model to a methodology based on actual transactions and/or executable quotes. This reflects one of the key orientations outlined in the IOSCO principles on financial […]

On 29 July 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a consultation paper on the proposed regulation for financial benchmarks, along with a response to the feedback received during the initial phase of public consultation held in 2013. The proposed regulation on financial benchmarks in Singapore is unmistakably an offshoot from the FCA’s approach […]

On 23 July 2014, the Council announced that it adopted the Regulation on improving securities settlement and regulating central securities depositories (CSDs). This is the most recent step towards the establishment of a single European securities market. The regulation is expected to be published in the Official Journal in Q3 2014. By 1 January 2015, T+2 settlement […]

On 22 July, IOSCO published a Review of the implementation of the principles on financial benchmarks by the administrators of Euribor, Libor and Tibor. The 150 page review covers the degree of implementation of the principles as of 11 April 2014, only seven months after the final principles were released. The significance of these three […]