Systemic US banks shed more than $7trn of non-cleared swaps in 2019

Outstanding non-cleared derivatives notionals held by top US firms fell by 7.5% in 2019.

At the eight US global systemically important banks (G-Sibs), bilateral derivatives notionals dropped $7.5 trillion to $93 trillion over the year. Cleared derivatives also edged lower, but by a much smaller amount – $206.8 billion (-0.2%) to $95.5 trillion.

However, between Q3 and Q4 2019, cleared notionals shrunk by a whopping 22%. Non-cleared notionals fell by a more modest 9%. This fourth-quarter purge