ISDA has requested feedback regarding whether to update its General Disclosure Statement for Transactions. The 43 page General Disclosure forms the main body of a market-standard documentation suite intended to assist with risk disclosure requirements mandated by the CFTC’s External Business Conduct Rules (Rules 23.431, 23.450(g) and 23.605(e)). It is appended by a series of […]

The BCBS\IOSCO twins confirmed yesterday that the imposition of margin requirements for uncleared swaps will be delayed by nine months. The phase-in schedule for the mandatory posting of initial and variation margin will now begin in September 2016, while still adhering to its four-year schedule, beginning with “the largest, most active and most systemically important […]

In a recent webcast, ISDA highlighted the impact on portfolios of derivative documentation which will result from its various workstreams designed to facilitate compliance with the Working Group on Margining Requirements’ (WGMR) forthcoming rules on margin for non-centrally cleared derivatives.  It is required listening for anyone with responsibility for derivative documentation, but a summary is […]

On 7 November 2014, ISDA published version 1.0 of its “Minimum Standards for the Future State of Margin Workflow” (the “Standards”), a working document designed to support practical implementation of the BCBS-IOSCO margin requirements for Non-Centrally Cleared Derivatives and the draft EU Regulatory Technical Standard on Risk-Mitigation Techniques for OTC-Derivatives Contracts not Cleared by a […]

ISDA has joined the swelling chorus of the concerned about CCPs, issuing “Principles for CCP Recovery”, a short document outlining five recovery and resolution issues. Its first page introduces a new financial acronym- PONV- “point of non-viability”[1], essentially the trigger point for resolution. ISDA’s chief executive Scott O’Malia said, “This is a debate about what […]

On 6 November 2014, ISDA released the 2014 “Standard” Credit Support Annex, available as always under English law or New York law. This new CSA is meant to coexist with the legacy 1994 CSA and the already out-of-fashion 2013 CSA published only a year ago. What was presented as a tour de force in the […]

The FSB has released a consultation paper on the cross-border recognition of resolution action. The FSB TBTF report previously identified cross-border legal uncertainty as one of the main stumbling-blocks to the effective resolution of a SIFI subject to multiple jurisdictions. Key Attribute (KA) 7.5 mandates the mutual cross-border recognition of resolution authority and action; existing […]

A critical legal challenge to the Gensler-era CFTC was decided Tuesday, in a resounding victory for the agency. Judge Paul Friedman rejected arguments by three trade bodies[1] that the CFTC had overstepped its authority in extending the extra-territorial reach of its swaps rules. His 92 page opinion is decisive- The challengers “merely seek to delay […]

The High Court in the UK[1] recently clarified important parameters of the Market Quotation process under the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement. It is now established that quotations must be obtained on or after the Early Termination Date and that “live” quotes must be obtained. Backdated or indicative quotes are definitely unacceptable. These questions had remained […]