Replacement costs add to OTC pricing upheaval

Dealers do not often ask regulators to intervene in the derivatives markets, but faced with an insoluble pricing headache, and no way to defend themselves, they’re seeking help. And some clients are now asking whether the market has simply become too complex. By Matt Cameron

As dealers have slid down the ratings spectrum in recent years, options the industry gave away for free when in better health have become painfully relevant, forcing banks to confront the latest in a long line of post-crisis pricing challenges – the replacement valuation adjustment (RVA). It may be a challenge too far.

“They’re horrible,” says the head of rates trading at one large European bank. “We have no idea how to price them or manage the risk associated with them. All I know is that if we