Too much power: Sefs warn on 'available to trade' rules

Final execution rules in the US have given swap execution facilities the power to determine what products they will be allowed to trade. The entire industry appears to agree this is a terrible idea – including the trading venues themselves. Peter Madigan reports

It is rare to hear regulated entities complain that a new rule gives them too much freedom, but since final rules for swap execution facilities (Sefs) were agreed on May 16, some of these venues – including Tradeweb – have been warning about the amount of latitude they have to decide which products fall into their market.

The Dodd-Frank Act states that an over-the-counter swap must be executed on a Sef or an exchange when it has been made available to trade (MAT) by one of the new platforms –