EU proposals feed hopes of forex forward VM relief

Expectations rise of forbearance after Council of the EU proposes buy side VM exemption

The proposals would limit margining to interdealer trades only

Proposals published by the Council of the EU earlier this week are fuelling expectations that buy-side firms will not have to post variation margin on certain foreign exchange forwards from next year – a controversial quirk of Europe’s rules. The proposals would limit margining to interdealer trades only.

“I’m fairly confident I will not need to be margining with funds from January 3. I think that is where we are headed,” says a regulatory expert at one European bank. “If you had asked me two