I’ve been at Greenwich Associates a little over a year now. Since I’ve been here I’ve written a few blog posts about SEFs, but have otherwise not written any formal research pieces on the topic. When I started looking at this back in 2010 via SEF 101, it was a green field. Today there is… Read More »
Earlier this year we spoke with just shy of 400 corporate treasurers about their use of interest rate derivatives. Given this group of IRD users isn’t covered as closely from a market structure perspective as financial end users, I was excited to see what trends we could find within the interview responses. So with the… Read More »
On Thursday May 1 the CFTC released an eagerly awaited clarifying document outlining when and how package trades would be required on SEF. Packaged transactions will be phased in by type from May 15th through November 15th, and to deal with the pre-trade credit checking issue (checking limits against each leg as opposed to the limit utilization… Read More »
On October 2 swap execution facilities (SEF) became official and started reporting trading volumes. While this new level of transparency is exciting, today’s reported volumes don’t really matter. In addition to the lack of reporting standards which complicate doing an apples to apples comparison (i.e. voice vs. electronic, D2D vs. D2C, FRAs vs. IRS), the… Read More »
Today (Sep 17, 2013) I’m moderating a swap futures panel at the Institutional Investor Fixed Income Forum event in Westchester County. For those of you keeping score at home that’s two swap futures panels in two days. We have a great lineup (Citi, Vanguard and CME) but will be one less than expected. Our CFTC… Read More »
The FT published a great special section this past Monday on the state of OTC derivatives reform. Coverage ranged from the impact of MF Global on margin and segregation rules to technology innovation driven by the new rules. What these stories all reaffirm is how much the details of the final rules will impact liquidity,… Read More »
I officially launched Kevin on the Street in the spring of 2010, so 2011 was its first full year of operation. Not like the world (or the web) needs another top ten list, but in digging through my Google Analytics account I thought it was pretty interesting to see what stories garnered the most interest.… Read More »
It seemed like the CFTC’s meeting yesterday (Dec 12th) would be a big one; we’d find out the size of a block trade and in doing so get some insight into how truly electronic the swaps market would become. Â Unfortunately, the can has been kicked down the road again. Â Instead we have a… Read More »
With so much focus on execution methods and block trade rules, little talk has been had about another SEF requirement: surveillance. Keeping your market participants in line is no small task. Here is what Javelin is doing to tackle the surveillance requirements.
On Tuesday, December 13th I presented to the CFTC Technology Advisory Committee. Chairman Gensler and Commissioners O’Malia and Wetjan were all there. Each panelist, myself included, gave a 15 minute opening and then we participated in an open Q&A with the Chairman, Commissioners and the members of the TAC. Maybe I’m just optimistic, but it… Read More »