Exchanges and CCPs
LCH Ltd sent record €6bn VM call to one clearing member in Q3
Largest estimated payment obligation in the event of a member default also climbs quarter on quarter
Top CCPs invest little clearing member cash in securities
Cash payments of initial margin and default fund contributions are typically placed with central banks
Skin in the game of top CCPs varies
The average default fund has less than 4% of total resources contributed by the host CCP itself
JSCC increases skin in the game after merger
CCP added ¥2.4 billion to cover commodities contracts
At LCH Ltd, IM levels edged lower in Q3
Peak aggregate initial margin call for equities fund hit £3 billion
Initial margin at the OCC leapt 20% in Q3
Cleared options contract volumes hit 1.9 billion in Q3
SOFR trading surged at year end
End-2020 volume and rate spike was muted compared to previous years
IM, default fund resources fell at Eurex in Q3
Total collateral held remains elevated compared to pre-coronavirus crisis
€STR transition stymied by addiction to Eonia – ECB
Notional outstanding OIS referencing outgoing rate has increased year-to-date
CCP liquidity risks varied in Q2
Most clearing services said their estimated largest payment obligations fell quarter-on-quarter
Initial margin held by top CCPs declined over Q2
Cash collateral held at central banks down 23% across top CCPs
FICC default exposure exceeded size of clearing fund in Q2
Mortgage-backed securities division had $887 million of uncovered exposure to collapse of two members
Sovereign bond IM increases at LCH Ltd
Margin held in own sovereign debt up 50% year-on-year
Eurex initial margin ebbed over Q2 as default fund swelled
Participant contributions to default fund up 55% quarter-on-quarter
JSCC placed majority of its default funds with the BoJ in Q2
Loss-absorbing resources stashed with commercial banks fell over the three months to end-June
Number of SOFR swaps traded hits new peak
Over 220 swaps struck for the first time since trading began
EU CCPs expand overseas footprint
Thirteen per cent of EU CCP clearing members are from outside the EU
Rates and FX exchange-traded derivatives markets cooled in Q2
Interest rate options and futures turnover halved over three months to end-June
Tri-party repo trades backed by GSE debt gain popularity
Agency bond trades made up 37% of total tri-party transactions on September 4
CCPs added cash to their liquidity buffers in Q1
CME increased cash reserves at central banks by 271% quarter-on-quarter
LME Clear stretched by CCP stress tests
Metals clearing house would exhaust prefunded resources under Esma’s default shock scenario
One-quarter of Libor FRNs to mature after benchmark’s death
One-third of outstanding notes issued out of non-Libor countries
Lawmakers have to sort ‘tough legacy’ Libor products – survey
Challenges agreeing contract amendments and lack of term rates for the risk-free alternatives are also barriers to transition
Top clearing houses bolstered default funds over Q1
NSCC reported its guaranty resources grew 231%