Capital Markets Advisors

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014, 9:24AM by GEORGE BOLLENBACHER If anyone had any doubts about the impact of regulatory change on the swaps markets, they only need to read ISDA’s recent research paper, Revisiting Cross-Border Fragmentation of Global OTC Derivatives: Mid-year 2014 Update. The paper makes it clear that regional attempts to regulate a global market can have unintended consequences. Here are some of their findings about the IRS market: The… Read More »

Europe to boost visibility with new venues, writes Peter Green of Morrison Foerster Amongst the most sweeping changes introduced under the new Mifid II legislation are those relating to pre- and post- trade transparency for transactions executed on trading venues. Transparency requirements under the existing Mifid regime are limited to shares admitted to trading on a regulated market. These new rules will apply to equity-like instruments, including depositary receipts and… Read More »

IFR 2043 26 July to 1 August 2014 By Christopher Whittall   As a consultation on landmark reforms that will irrevocably change the face of European financial markets draws to a close, a fundamental and deceptively simple question remains at the centre of the regulatory debate: how to define market liquidity. At stake is the range of products that will be captured by beefed-up pre and post-trade transparency requirements under… Read More »

By Gina Chon in Washington Financial Times   The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is stepping up pressure on the biggest banks to improve their ethics and culture, after investigations into the alleged rigging of benchmark rates led officials to conclude bankers had not learnt lessons from the financial crisis. The investigations into the alleged manipulation of Libor and foreign exchange rates produced emails and other evidence that NY… Read More »

07.25.2014 On August 11, trade reporting requirements under European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir) will kick in, requiring firms to report valuation and collateral information, in addition to the basic trade reporting requirement that they have been subject to since February. This puts the onus on buy-side firms to either do the reporting themselves, or delegate it to their sell-side broker. “From a buy-side perspective, a lot of firms thought they… Read More »

JULY, 2014 by GEORGE BOLLENBACHER   With the compliance date for the Volcker Rule (VR) just under a year away, most banks are fully involved in getting ready, but their technology vendors may be way behind, if they are even aware of its implications for their products. Unless tech companies get on the stick, banks may find that many of their compliance efforts are compromised, if not ineffective. First Things… Read More »

MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014 by GEORGE BOLLENBACHER   With all the discussions about: 1) the coming (sometime) global increase in interest rates and 2) the need to margin outstanding swaps positions, not much has been said yet about what happens when these two events intersect. So it’s time to take a close look at the storm that will occur when these two clouds on the horizon come together. First let’s… Read More »

Author: George M. Bollenbacher Associate Partner, Capital Markets Advisors This July marks the fourth anniversary of the passage and signing of the Dodd-Frank Act, so it is appropriate to reflect on the two sections of the DFA most of interest to Tabb Forum members, Title VII on derivatives, and Section 619, the Volcker Rule. Title VII The first question we might ask about Title VII is whether swaps were really… Read More »

By Helen Bartholomew Published July 12, 2014 IFR After a solid first quarter, equity derivatives desks have endured a difficult three months as volumes declined alongside a plunge in volatility, further denting hopes that the business will play a significant role in plugging the revenue gap left by the fixed income slump. As banks prepare to deliver second-quarter results that will struggle to live up to solid first-quarter numbers buoyed by… Read More »

Author: Isobel Wright, Nora Bullock Hogan Lovells explains how alternative investment funds that enter into derivatives transactions may judge the interaction between Emir and AIFMD The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir) came into force on August 16, 2012, and sets out new requirements, including clearing obligations, risk mitigation techniques for uncleared trades and trade reporting, for all over-the-counter derivatives. The extent to which the new requirements will apply will depend… Read More »