Articles by Tom Osborn
Who is Timothy Massad?
He cooks, he’s quiet, he’s confident, and he will cope with everything Wall Street throws at him. That is the picture painted by former colleagues – and adversaries – of the US Treasury Department’s Timothy Massad, probable new chairman at the Commodity…
Sefs not expecting a big bang from Mat spark
As the Sef trading mandate arrives, platforms are primed for a jump in volumes – but with many clients currently avoiding Sefs, it may be a small bang, rather than a big one. Tom Osborn reports
Tradition and Tullett Prebon draw fire in Sef volumes flap
Market is split on how to report volumes for multi-legged trades
Prime Finance: Golden's quest for completion
Prime mover
European CCPs overhaul futures margin models
Some clearing houses are pushing up margin requirements to address procyclicality concerns - but no change is planned at CME or Eurex
Many firms will not meet Emir reporting deadline, says Isda's Pickel
Market participants relying on regulatory forbearance, Isda chief executive tells legal conference
OTF transparency waivers survive final Mifid debate
European disclosure regime for derivatives platforms diverges from that in US
Emerging markets dealer of the year: Standard Bank
Standard Bank is a big player in its home market, with good international ties - now, the idea is to use those strengths to support the development of sub-Saharan Africa
Deal of the year: Arqiva/HSBC
Deal of the year: Arqiva/HSBC
SG CIB completes longevity trade for Aegon
Deal with Dutch insurer Aegon marks French bank’s first major transaction in the longevity swap market
More firms expect technology spending increase in 2014
Rising expectations
Europe set for swap futures shoot-out
Up to eight venues are gearing up to launch interest rate swap futures in Europe – each with a different take on the product. What does the market make of their chances? Tom Osborn reports
PRA protects clearing from leverage ratio hammer-blow
Banks say leverage exposure "could be halved" after PRA acts to safeguard business
OTFs and Sefs: equivalence in doubt
European legislators are close to finalising their derivatives execution rules, but trading platforms are concerned the OTF framework may be sufficiently different to US Sef rules to scupper any chance of equivalence determinations. By Tom Osborn
Regulators clash on Mifid waivers
Some regulators and brokers have expressed fears that exemptions included in Mifid may mean European rules on trade execution are not equivalent to the US – but a key parliamentarian disagrees
Futures data will be useless to regulators without reporting delay, Esma warns
Esma responds to EC's 'intended rejection' of one-year postponement
Ice members split over new client clearing model
Dealers fear mutualised exposure in 'sponsored principal' model
Timing tension – Europe clearing deadline set to slip
Mandatory clearing in Europe is widely expected to start from next year, but the complex authorisation process, combined with the variety of collateral segregation models, means the start date for some clients could be much later. Tom Osborn reports
Paulhac leaves CME Group
CME’s head of OTC products and services is expected to take up a senior position at Icap at critical juncture for electronic swaps trading
Start of EU clearing mandate could drag into 2015
Nick Sawyer, editor-in-chief of Risk, and Risk staff writer Tom Osborn discuss the timeline for clearing in Europe, and the tensions this could create with other regulators
Clearing in Europe won’t bite until 2015, banks expect
CFTC's Chilton says "continuing to kick the can down the road is just not acceptable", as expectations grow that Europe will miss 2014 start date
No plans to change haircuts on US Treasury collateral, CME says
CME Group has no plans to alter haircuts on US Treasury bills, despite some concern that politicians will fail to avert a US default on October 17
Rand volatility jolts South Africa's quanto stock futures market
Currency controls in South Africa limit the ability of domestic investors to build stakes in big overseas companies. Listed quanto futures are one way round that, but the users remain exposed to currency risk – so some banks are now pushing an options…
Remembering Lehman: CCPs hardwire collapse into models
Five years on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the chaos that followed is now being erased from some value-at-risk models – and clearing houses do not agree on how to prop up their margin requirements. By Tom Osborn