The Wholesale Market Brokers Association of American (WMBA) submitted to the CFTC guidelines as they saw them for what are to become Swap Execution Facilities (SEF). The full submission can be read here. Although this provides some clarity as to what the industry wants, this is only one voice and only the beginning. The Dodd-Frank […]
Tag: Reform
SEF 101: Deconstructing the Swap Execution Facility
Also posted at TabbFORUM.com and submitted to the CFTC. The term “Swap Execution Facility” (SEF) has been formally christened and will henceforth be a part of OTC derivatives vernacular. Yet to be determined, however, is whether SEF will become merely a new label for existing businesses or conversely an open door for competition, innovation and […]
FinReg: The End of the Beginning
A quick conversation with Adam Sussman following President Obama’s signing of the Financial Reform Bill:
Financial Reform Becomes Law: The Devil's In The Details (Futures Magazine)
The law is passed but the rule writing processing is where the real nitty gritty details will be defined. My comments focus mostly on the execution space and definition of Swap Execution Facility: McPartland says the new rules will mean more transparency for traders. “We’ll see much more readily accessible electronic data for swaps trading. […]
Regulators may silence derivative squawk boxes (Financial Times)
With the financial reform bill officially law its time to get down to details. One big area in need of clarity is OTC derivative executions which includes the soon to be defined Swap Execution Facility. This FT article goes through the ins and outs and winners and losers when it comes to SEFs. My comment […]
Markets: Frozen in time (Financial Times)
This article is a discussion of how information and market data flows in the current OTC derivatives market. Proposed legislation told us that much of this is set to change, although the complexity of some products and the capital required to create them will still leave the major dealers at the center of much of […]
Sen. Lincoln To Exempt Community Banks From Swaps Spinoff Bill (Wall Street Journal)
Senator Lincoln is backing down slightly from originally proposed derivatives amendment. Its still far from reality in my opinion, but we’re getting there. “The fact the [legislation] is so broad-reaching may cause problems for small banks that already have capital constraints and are also not budgeting for the legal ramifications of this,” said Kevin McPartland, […]
Banks vs. Congress: The Financial Reform Endgame Approaches (AOL DailyFinance)
We’re finally near the end of a drawn out legislative process to create new rules for governing OTC derivatives and US banking in general. A long rule writing process will follow, so we’re far from done, but the bill to be passed by Congress will define the groundwork for the new market structure. “Clearly in […]
A Rude Awakening for OTC Derivative Executions: Buying a Bandwagon Seat
Also posted at TabbFORUM.com The current execution landscape for OTC derivatives is in for a rude awakening. Index CDS and the most liquid interest rate swaps (2-, 5-, 7- and 10-year) are set to move into a world of high speed messaging and even higher speed analytics. Many have already discussed how an expected execution […]
Dropping Swaps Plan for Volcker Rule May Not Reduce Bank Risk (Bloomberg)
Some think its too much and some think its too little. Either way the proposals don’t seem good for the market and its feeling more and more like the resulting rules will push business off shore. The market-making exemption will have little effect on how banks use swaps to place trades betting on the direction […]