RegTech IntelligenceJWG analysis. Last year’s Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) saw fresh demand from regulators for a more transparent and efficient framework for EU CSD services and operations. The main aims of CSDR are to increase the safety and efficiency of the post-trade environment, primarily through the harmonisation of settlement cycles and settlement discipline for CSDs.
Helen Pykhova, Director, The OpRisk Company, and Elizabeth Roberts, Managing Director, Sheffield Haworth, share their thoughts on the identity of an operational risk professional. Over recent years, the importance of the operational risk profession within financial services has undoubtedly increased. This has been due to a number of reasons, such as major corporate failures and
JWG analysis. Since the financial crisis, there has been an increased focus on tackling market abuse. As of March this year, the FCA had 49 cases market abuse cases open and, in 2014, 60+ market abuse cases were on their books. In terms of criminal convictions, three were secured for insider dealing and nine confiscation
JWG analysis. With many of the regulations that have come into force since the 2008 financial crash, the rules may appear simple enough, but the devil is very much in the detail. MiFID II is no exception. With MiFID II looking to enhance transparency within the industry, firms that currently provide RFQ services must consider
JWG analysis. It’s only Tuesday and already this week we’ve had some big headlines in the financial services world. On the other side of the Atlantic, Banamex USA was fined by federal and state banking regulators for failure to implement adequate safeguards against money laundering transactions. Perhaps even more significant news is the recent conviction
JWG analysis. With Australia and Canada having already adopted new rules to oversee trading within dark pools, it is now Europe’s turn to shed some light on this activity. Considering that only about 9% of European equities were traded within dark pools in 2014 (in comparison to about 40% in the US), it may seem
JWG analysis. It may have taken five years and five regulatory agencies to bring about, but the final version of the Volcker rule has officially landed. The Volcker Rule, also known as Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), was named after former Federal Reserve chair, Paul Volcker, who
JWG analysis. Japan is planting new seeds to grow and allow for corporate profitability to flourish. Its past has not been untarnished when it comes to corporate governance, and it would give the US’ Enron era a run for its money. To many, Japan has been a global pariah when it comes to corporate governance
JWG analysis. Peer-to–peer lending has grown at a rapid rate in China over the last two years, with more than 2000 peer-to-peer platforms in operation. But the sector has been plagued by questionable sales techniques and rogue operators taking a fly-by-night approach and disappearing with customers’ funds. In addition, regulators are worried that an industry
JWG analysis. The commencement date (March 2016) of the Senior Managers Regime is fast approaching – but what does it mean for senior managers? And will anyone want to be a senior manager when the regime finally commences? Whilst the new regime will only affect new applicants directly, those who are certified under the existing
JWG analysis. On 21 July 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank for short) into law. Since its inception, the number of pages of Dodd-Frank related rules has risen to 22,296, representing over a 550% increase on the 4,049 pages released in the first year. It may have
JWG analysis. With MiFID II looking set to radically change the financial trading environment as we know it, following on from part 1, in this article we explore 5 more key changes we are anticipating by 2017. 6. Increasing competition In line with the policy focus on competition, the European Commission (EC) proposed rules
JWG analysis. The removal of a number of financial practices has altered the regulatory environment in recent decades. With new landmark legislations coming in to play soon, regulators across Europe look set to bring down the curtain on another. Under the existing practice of bundled commissions, asset managers charge clients to manage their funds but
JWG analysis. By January 2017, European financial services legislation will have significantly changed the financial services sector. The sheer volume of transactions, products and firms affected by the new regulation means that we can say goodbye to the trading landscape we currently know. In part 1 of this article, we discuss five of the
JWG analysis. In an article earlier this week, we highlighted some of the key challenges for firms engaged in HFT activities under MiFID II. In this piece, we will focus in more detail on one particular area of change under MiFID II, namely algorithmic trading and the implications of regulators rewriting the dictionary for it.
JWG analysis. Just as firms are getting their heads round reporting for FATCA, the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), together with its band of early adopters, pops up. Much has been written on comparing CRS with FATCA, highlighting that there is little to fear for there are synergies to be found. If you are one
JWG analysis. In part 1, we focused on the consultation paper published by the FCA on 7 July, CP 15/22, in which the UK’s financial regulator proposed that managers responsible for algorithmic trading should also be covered under the new Senior Managers and Certification Regime. But, as many readers will know, it is not only
By Sam Tyfield and JWG. It has been widely rumoured that the level 2 MiFID II will define the high frequency algorithmic trading technique (HFATT) as one which has a high message intraday rate in which there is a minimum of four messages being sent per second for all instruments traded on a trading venue.
JWG analysis. Mark Carney recently declared the ‘age of irresponsibility’ within the fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) markets to be over. Just over a year ago, the UK Government introduced the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) in response to the FX and LIBOR scandals. The large scale misconduct and collusion had damaged public
JWG analysis. Since 2008, regulators have been plugging the gaps revealed by the global financial crisis and have just put another brick in the financial services wall – the 4th Money Laundering Directive. Last month, the much anticipated ‘IV’ was published in the official journal and will become the law of the land in 2
JWG analysis. At CISI’s Annual Conference, Verena Ross presented the latest outlook on EU regulation, covering the Capital Markets Union (CMU), ongoing work in relation to investor protection and the digitalisation of financial services. Ross once more emphasised how a successful CMU, based on a single capital market in the EU, promotes the attractiveness of
JWG analysis. Today ESMA published a Q&A, aiming to clarify the status of investment-based crowdfunding platforms which are outside the scope of MiFID and, therefore, not automatically subject to rules designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing under AMLD III. Investment-based crowdfunding platforms can have a different regulatory status. Some are within the scope
JWG analysis. TheCityUK today published its research report on EU reform. In it, they outline proposals for a more competitive Europe, focusing on regulatory reform in section five. As TheCityUK emphasises, and we have previously mentioned in our publications, a spate of fresh regulation has been initiated within and beyond the G20 since the global
JWG analysis. As we pointed out in our third piece on regulatory reporting, and at an Infoline conference for the buy-side this week in London, the overarching question is how will firms’ derivative activity be judged to be ‘good enough’ in 2017? There is no single answer, and we won’t really know until the results
We are now less than 400 work days away from MiFID II’s big bang and ‘implementation’ is now the name of the game. Yes, there will be a final version, but the vast majority of what is in the drafts is likely to remain the same. On 7 July, City & Financial Global will hold
By Sam Tyfield and JWG. As RegTech readers may recall, back in 2014, the prudential regulator in the UK released new rules for the firms it regulated – the ‘senior managers regime’ or SMR – and that the Bank of England was running a Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) looking at what needed to change in
JWG analysis. As we have been reporting for the past 18 months, MiFID II is massive and the delta between it and MiFID I is cavernous. JWG’s MiFID Implementation Group (MIG) weekly workshops have been actively delving into the ‘known unknowns’ of the sell-side all year and we are pleased to help promote City &
JWG analysis. Given the 5 year latency between flash crash and recent arrest, John Bates wondered whether the regulators were riding bicycles to try and catch up with the sporty cars driven by the Flash Boys, the high-frequency traders. Although HFT represents a large percentage of trading volume, what ‘it’ is and how it can
JWG analysis. JWG’s recent analysis report, the MiFID II KYC mountain, finds that financial institutions have a 12-item checklist to work through for their MiFID II KYC implementation due to the requirement for firms operating in the EU to acquire, document and agree much more information about their customer’s situation and their transacted business by
JWG analysis. We’re used to watching our document trackers spin out of control in so-called ‘quiet’ times. As we wrote in January, the last 2 weeks of 2014 year saw global FS regulators pump out over 4,000 pages. These Easter holidays were little better with 2,000 pages of regulatory text released in two weeks. It
JWG analysis. As MiFID programmes take off and top tier firms tackle MiFID II implementation, the banking sector is about to be hit by even more pressure to produce reports about trading activity. The proposed regulation, aimed at enhancing the transparency of securities financing transactions (SFTs), seeks to ‘balance the scales’ between the two sectors
JWG analysis. Firms have plenty of planes in the air right now. The regulatory pressure on firms to ‘get KYC right’ in the form of new financial crime regulation, such as FATCA or AMLD IV, and huge fines means they will need to juggle these changes amidst an ongoing regulatory implementation effort. How you need
By Sam Tyfield and JWG. Here algo again … Yesterday, ESMA published a notice stating that supervision of automated trading across the EU (in compliance with the ESMA guidelines from 2012) was converging. We found that interesting – a closer look at the BaFin’s rules versus those MiFID II/R creates would appear to show less
Regulation is coming thick and fast. With predicted document count of 200,000 by 2018, dealing with the deluge in a page-by-page, regulation-by-regulation approach is becoming impossible as G20 commitments spread across many rulebooks. Firms trying to tackle the changes one-by-one will end up with sky-high implementation costs and conflicting priorities – unless they take action
JWG analysis. Regulations like FATCA, EMIR and Dodd-Frank have asked us to collect more information on our customers than ever before – but now it’s clear that was just the start of the story. New regulation finds regulators even hungrier for information on the firm’s relationship with its customer, together with details of how information
With the second round of MiFID II consultation now officially over, the time is right to get our MiFID II implementation training ready to fly on 24 March in London. We suspect that, soon, regulators will be asking tough questions about how you plan to be ready for system integration testing in a mere 350
JWG analysis. The second round of MiFID II consultation has officially ended. As we have previously noted, the tone from the recent hearing was that, despite more consultation due on some of the fine print, we are largely done discussing the standards and can now begin to start thinking about how to implement them. On
JWG analysis. This month, ESMA hosted a broad cross-section of market participants for a final ‘hearing’ on the MIFID II technical standards they will send to Brussels for approval this summer. Of course, many attendees were surprised to find that, while they were en route to Paris to sit for 10 hours with 350 of
JWG analysis. As we read the comments on our last article on the five tribes of regulatory reform, we were struck by the visceral reaction to the suggestion of sharing the agenda. “Hands-off, that’s my mortgage you’re messing with”, commented one lawyer. We wonder, can tribes achieve their overarching regulatory goals if they are NOT
By Robin Poynder, FMR advisory. Advancements in price distribution technologies and the advent of high frequency trading have forced firms’ IT departments to establish strict controls around best practice pricing for trades. CEO of FMR Advisory, Robin Poynder, explains the need for a standardised protection mechanism “last look”. “Some argue that last look is a
JWG analysis. It’s only February and we’ve laid out quite a programme of work for 2015. Digesting the 4,000-page Christmas gift, curing the KYC sickness, cutting a trail through MiFID II and taming your global trading troubles – and we’re not yet at the midpoint of the first quarter. Sadly, it is not a blip
By Darragh O’Grady and JWG. Regulatory requirements coming in over the next 3 years will mean firms need to know – and prove that they know – more things about their customer than ever before. Combined with the growth of ‘digital banking’, firms are now having to innovate on the digital front, whilst ensuring compliance
The need for better counterparty information sits at the centre of most regulatory reform agendas. Unfortunately, this means the period from 2015 to 2017 brings with it massive new documentation, workflow and vendor change for the hundreds of fields maintained for every subaccount in capital markets. Do you know what is about to hit your marketing,
JWG analysis. The industry returned after the break knowing that it had fewer than 500 working days to implement MiFID II but found over 2,000 pages of new text to read. Even worse, the grapevine whispers that more is due out this month. As we’ve written before, organising and planning is the order of the
JWG analysis. 2015 will see a number of new regulatory requirements, long in the proposal or draft stage, crystallise into prescriptions for better customer data management. At a time when record fines for AML failures and new personal liability for senior managers have intensified the pressure to ‘get KYC right’, these ‘remedies’ pose significant challenges
JWG analysis. In our last article on this topic, we spelt out our views on regulatory implementation standards. And the first standard that needs to be defined is how you’re going to organise your work programmes. The shape of your MiFID II programme MiFID II is far beyond just a few ‘tweaks’ to MiFID I. So much
JWG analysis. This summer, we took a look at the emerging MiFID II/MiFIR technical standards and concluded that the ‘hearing’ that they were getting would result in a war of many parts. Since the summer, over 700 MiFID II/MiFIR responses have been submitted, the FCA has run a conference crying for action and JWG is
JWG analysis. Conduct risk continues to be a hot topic. There is a number of reasons for this: everybody’s being fined for it, there is a continuous stream of regulatory requirements demanding it and -probably most importantly – no-one knows exactly what it is. The FSA provided a definition in 2011 in their Retail Conduct
In our previous articles we’ve explored the expanding requirements for robust systems and risk controls under MiFID II, the nature of proportionality as it relates to algorithmic trading and the new accountability implications for senior managers. This article, written by Meredith Gibson, Head of Legal Risk, Santander UK plc and Helen Pykhova, Director, The Op
JWG analysis. As the sun slips back into hibernation, schools reopen and autumn looms, regulators, lawyers, risk specialists, change managers and compliance professionals are returning to their desks. Here at JWG we have been busy tabulating the enormous level of movement in the regulatory space during the summer. For those of you lucky enough to
JWG analysis. This summer, regulatory pressure on financial services firms has ratcheted up to unprecedented levels. Many may have breathed a sigh of relief as Dodd-Frank rule-making slowed … but the respite was only fleeting. Since July, the industry has been bombarded with 39 new consultation papers (in the EU and UK alone) just as
JWG analysis. ‘What is proportional?’ is a question that firms may well find themselves pondering in the coming months as they begin implementation planning for MiFID II … and the same question is going to be asked by risk and compliance specialists on a regular basis once MiFID II goes live in 2017. This is
JWG analysis. The Bank of England (BoE), along with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority, has released 2 joint consultations and 1 policy statement on remuneration, clawbacks, and accountability in Financial Services: 30 July – Policy Statement PS7/14 Clawback – here 30 July – Consultation Paper PRA CP15/14/FCA CP14/14 Strengthening the
By Sam Tyfield, Vedder Price. Recently, ESMA published two consultation papers (CPs) on MAR: 1. draft technical standards on MAR (CP1) and 2. draft technical advice on Commission delegated acts (CP2). The consultation period closes in October 2014. CP1 contains reference to insider trading, buy-backs and stabilisation, market soundings and other issues on which I
JWG analysis Europe has two key market abuse rule-sets being introduced in 2014/15 – The Regulation on Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) and Regulation (MAR). This month, 4 consultations have been released; two from the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and two from the European
JWG analysis. At the turn of the century, the framers of the UK’s financial infrastructure rulebook enshrined four fundamental concepts into systems and controls practice. The rulebook in question is the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which created the FSA. (The FSA was then subsequently split into the FCA and the PRA in
JWG analysis. We learnt something this month. The reason Europe calls it a regulatory ‘hearing’ is that it is an opportunity to hear views from both regulators and the market. Of course, that’s just part of the experience as many other senses are triggered when 400 people are locked in a basement for 2 days,
By Jon Watkins, The TRADE. European regulators opened their doors to market participants this week, who had their voices heard on the key points of MiFID II relating to the derivatives markets. Trade reporting, open access to clearing houses and high-frequency trading were just a handful of the contentious topics discussed during an two-days of
By Anna Reitman, Automated Trader. Public hearing was a marathon run for industry questions and comments on every aspect of upcoming MiFID II and MiFIR reforms. We highlight a few issues, including market making obligations and requirements that could find direct market access providers identifying clients’ proprietary algorithms. Paris – As the financial industry prepares
JWG analysis. The desire for tighter controls on algorithmic trading is growing globally. Trading rules in the major financial centres will quickly set new minimum thresholds. As described in our previous piece on how algos are defined and controlled, Europe is again leading the pack and would appear to have serious intent to change the
JWG analysis. Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary. The Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, whilst political debate rages in the US. Regardless, while the value of algo trading to global markets is generally considered
By Dominic Hobson, COOConnect. If you are a hedge fund manager, it is always tempting to believe that you are too small to be of interest to regulators. Or not the intended target of regulation at all. The fact that resources are too short to understand the detail of every regulation tends to encourage this (potentially ostrich-like) approach.
By Chris Kentouris. EMIR, it’s short for European Market Infrastructure Regulation. It has also become a four-letter word for fund managers struggling to fulfill reporting requirements. About five months after the effective date for fund managers and broker dealers to send details of trades executed on exchange-listed and over-the-counter swap transactions to recognized trade repositories, fund managers are
JWG analysis. Last week the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released several key documents including its annual Policy Statement amending certain aspects of the PRA Rulebook. These policy changes are sure to have an impact across all firms that come under the PRA’s regulatory jurisdiction. The PRA has: Amended eight of its Fundamental Rules which replaced its
JWG analysis Last week, long after the news of Super Tuesday which reshaped the EU regulatory landscape, Europe made MiFID II, MAR, CSMAD, DGSD and the BRRD law of the land. The final Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) , weighing in at a slim 69% fewer pages thanks to repagination, appears to be
JWG analysis. This month the Japanese Financial Services Agency published their latest FAQ on the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA). The current version of FIEA was approved and enacted in June 2006. It aims to: make Japanese financial and capital markets more adaptive to environmental change; promote investor protection and improve competition; ensure that
JWG analysis. The continent was rocked by far more than parliamentary elections on 22 May. Early reports from major financial centres confirm the impact from the 844 pages of text released by ESMA on MiFID II / MIFID to be about a 9 on the Richter scale – so high that ESMA’s website gave up
JWG has extracted the following questions from ESMA‘s Consultation Paper on MiFID/MiFIR Technical Advice. ESMA needs to deliver this advice to the European Commission by December 2014 and is therefore subject to a condensed consultation process for this paper. For more on MiFID/MiFIR see here. Q1. Do you agree with the proposed cumulative conditions to be
[accordion] JWG has extracted the following questions from ESMA‘s Discussion Paper on MiFID/MiFIR draft RTS/ITS. This paper will provide the basis for a further consultation paper on the draft RTS/ITS which is expected to be issued in late 2014/early 2015. For more on MiFID/MiFIR see here. Q1: Do you agree that the existing work/standards
JWG analysis. Our jaws hit the floor when it was revealed at our CDMG meeting last week that ESMA’s MiFID II technical standards are expected to be in excess of 800 pages with more than 800 questions to be answered by August 2014. And this is just the start. ESMA’s 2014 work plan has over
JWG analysis. The idea of KYC compliance has traditionally been associated with AML, PEP checks and international sanctions, however the new wave of regulations that is to begin rolling out in 2015 will place a whole new set of pressures on businesses to ‘know their clients’. Rachel Wolcott, writing for Accelus’ Compliance Complete, has highlighted
JWG analysis. While the significant reforms of MiFID II, the BRRD, the SRM and the DGS stole the limelight on ‘Super Tuesday’, other significant legislation also made its way through Parliament. The following reforms highlight Parliament’s move to solidify consumer protection within the wider European market. These reforms, the BAD, PRIIPs KID and UCITS V
By Sam Tyfield, Vedder Price. Algo flagging is currently only the concern of direct members of German venues. But it’s going to have a much broader application under MiFID / MiFIR and become of concern to the buy-side too. Yesterday, the good Doctor Voigt of Fidessa published a blog about algo flagging. It is well worth
JWG analysis. While the US HFT debate rages and the FBI launches its investigations, Europe is quietly preparing to set a hard-hitting set of new rules for technical standards. When ESMA begins its consultation around MiFID II / MiFIR tech standards this summer, market participants will need to have their ducks in a row and
JWG analysis. Earlier this month, New York Attorney General (NYAG), Eric Schneiderman, set out his stall with a scathing attack on high frequency trading firms and their practices. Describing HFT firms as ‘parasitic’ and comparing their strategies to “Insider Trading 2 .0”, the NYAG’s statement would have been music to the ears of financial luddites
JWG analysis. Last week, Nasdaq OMX became the first infrastructure provider to be authorised as a Central Counterparty (CCP) under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The decision sent waves of mild panic rippling through the OTC markets, putting the focus back on an issue that was already predicted to pose problems for European banks
JWG hosted a jam-packed CDMG meeting last week for the first sneak-peek of what MiFID II holds in store for 2016. The big conclusion: a lot of work still needs to be done to scope out the operational implications of MiFID II / MiFIR and firms will need to coordinate responses quickly once the consultation
JWG analysis. Once MiFIR is enacted over the coming months, there will no doubt be a lot of concern about one little word that threatens to have a serious impact on the commercial operations of many service providers in Europe. That word is ‘reasonable’. By itself, the word reasonable seems harmless. But when used as
JWG co-hosted a webinar earlier this week, along with Banking Technology and the DTCC, examining the recently launched EMIR trade reporting regime. The conversation tackled a range of issues, including challenges faced by industry participants in getting ready for the 12 February launch date, and a look ahead to future milestones in the reporting regime.
JWG analysis. When the requirement brought about by the German high frequency trading act to tag algorithms comes into force in April of this year, market participants may well feel hamstrung by the complexity of the regime. And while the regulatory goal of improving market surveillance and reducing systemic risk may be valid, some might
JWG analysis. The first 700 of 18,000 pages of MiFID II texts have now been published, a little more than a month after the European Commission announced agreement in the trilogue process, but this milestone foreshadows a confused standards landscape that will stretch forward to implementation of the regulations and directives in 2016. For those
JWG analysis. EU and US taxpayers scratched their heads in disbelief this week as the regulators made it painfully clear that they have squandered both years and billions with little to show for it. The politicians that gathered in Pittsburgh were quite explicit – they want OTC transparency. Did they expect that, nearly five years
JWG analysis. When G20 leaders met in Pittsburgh back in September 2009, there was clear consensus on the direction that the financial industry needed to take in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Transparency was a key theme. The view was that, by mandating industry-wide reporting obligations for OTC derivatives, regulators would be armed
By Conor Foley, Hume Brophy. This alert summarises the key provisions of the proposed Regulation on structural measures improving resilience of EU credit institutions (SBR proposal) and the proposed Regulation on reporting and transparency of securities financing transactions (TSFT proposal). Both proposals were published on 29 January by the European Commission and follow the 2012
JWG analysis. According to the notice released on Thursday, the FCA has fined Standard Bank £7,640,400 for failings in its AML systems and controls relating to its treatment of corporate customers connected to politically exposed persons (PEPs). This notice is particularly relevant given that the FSA’s thematic reviews in 2010 found that “more than a
JWG analysis. The new political drive towards tax transparency is landing in money laundering legislation, and complicating an already complex landscape. G8 Leaders, as a result of the summit held in June last year, committed to publishing ‘action plans’ setting out the concrete steps they will take to combat tax evasion. It appears that those
Working late into Tuesday night, European lawmakers concluded a compromise over the new Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). The final text has not yet been made public, and is not expected for several days. However, some details have emerged. Concessions had to be made on both sides, with the Parliament advocating for robust
2013 was a huge year in the development of alternate and decentralised ‘crypto-currencies’. Some countries have so far taken relaxed stances on them, despite obvious money-laundering and tax evasion risks. Meanwhile, others have taken the opposite approach and seen fit to ban crypto-currencies outright. Either way, we are now beginning to see a clearer picture
Big changes are happening at the CFTC: With the departure of Gensler, and the swearing-in of acting Chairman Mark Wetjen, everyone knew that there would be a change of approach. However, the scale and speed of that change has come as a surprise to many. In fact, almost the moment Gensler stepped out of the
By: Sam Tyfield Just in time for your holiday, December has seen a cascade of reporting work from ESMA and the EU Commission on EMIR. On December 20, 2014, ESMA release an updated Q&A on EMIR. Specifically on ETD reporting, see towards the bottom of the page at the link here (I have cut and pasted the relevant paragraphs below,
On 6 August, ESMA updated its Q&A guidance on the implementation of EMIR (read here). Firms should pay particular attention to these Q&As as they have been known to overturn some common assumptions in the past, and this edition is no exception. In particular, the new answers spell bad news for the future cost of
How will the PRA, FCA, and CMA manage conflicting competition mandates? On 24 July, during the second reading of the UK’s Banking Reform Bill, it was stated that a new competition objective will be given to the PRA. UK banks now find themselves with three national competition regulators jostling for position, not to mention those
It is common knowledge that the central clearing and risk mitigation requirements apply to any third country firm trading with an EU entity. However, it may come as a surprise that these requirements can also apply to trades purely between two third country entities where such trades have a ‘direct, substantial and foreseeable effect with
Before ESMA left for their summer holidays, they made it abundantly clear that EMIR will apply in one form or another outside of the EU. This threatens to disrupt trading flows globally as early as 15 September. By this date, parties trading derivatives must agree in writing the arrangements under which OTC derivative portfolios will
Today, 22 July, marks the day that the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), must be transposed into national law. With the rules now technically in force, UK-based firms have a year to become compliant and apply for authorisation with the FCA. However, this apparently generous deadline disguises the fact that many managers may need
The Australia has produced final implementing regulation that will implement their derivatives trade reporting regime. ASIC consulted on rules for trade repositories and trade reporting in March and April 2013, and expects these rules to be finalised and enter into force in July. These draft regulations include restrictions on ASIC’s rule making power in relation
The proposal for Cross-Border Guidance and accompanying exemptive phase-in order has been approved by the CFTC in a 3-1 vote. Regulators have broken a worrying stalemate between the CFTC and the European authorities; worrying because it threatened to split derivatives trading along jurisdictional lines, with US entities unable to clear through European infrastructure and vice
US and EU regulators have announced a ‘path forward‘ on approaching cross-border derivatives regulation that will allow firms operating internationally to comply with only one set of OTC trading requirements, rather than implementing both Dodd-Frank and EMIR. For a long time it seemed that there would be no agreement on the ‘equivalency’ between Dodd-Frank and
The scope of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive has been a big grey area since the first draft. This carries with it primary problems for funds, who may not be certain whether they are AIFs or not, but also secondary problems for those selling derivatives to the buy-side. Firms that are uncertain of their
Recent developments give firms some reasons to celebrate but be prepared for a long engagement With lots of different regulatory benchmark efforts now underway, the industry could be forgiven for not taking a common stance. With IOSCO set to issue final principles in July, ESMA and the EBA are simultaneously consulting on a European set