Initial margin
Uncleared margin – The changing needs of buy-side firms
Raf Pritchard, head of triResolve, discusses the initial margin calculation and collateralisation challenges for firms coming into scope under phases five and six of the uncleared margin rules
Asia CCPs forced to hike margins rapidly during equities rout
Margins for Nikkei 225 futures more than doubled at JSCC in a matter of days
ABN winds down Ronin books after Vix losses
$200m loss suffered by bank’s clearing business is thought to be mystery second default
Industry calls for suspension of IM compliance dates
Associations warn phase five deadline may no longer be possible for hundreds of buy-side firms amid Covid-19 disruption
EC: No plans to delay IM phase five
EC official says Europe will go ahead with phase five initial margin requirements set to come into effect in September
Coronavirus rout revives attacks on futures margining
FCMs call for permanently higher margins following “unprecedented” number of breaches
Systemic US banks shed more than $7trn of non-cleared swaps in 2019
Cleared notionals stay flat on the year
Of rats and men: would member compensation imperil CCPs?
CCPs and members split over whether compensation after default losses is moral hazard or fair
India preps margin regime as parliament debates netting law
Lawmakers thrash out bill on close-out netting; margin rules likely to follow in H1
Oil price shock triggers big margin calls
Banks and exchanges worked through weekend in anticipation of oil collapse
Outsmarting counterparty risk with smart contracts
A digital transaction system developed by quants at DZ Bank could slash margin costs for derivatives
Smart derivative contracts: detaching transactions from counterparty credit risk
Introducing deterministic termination rules to eliminate counterparty risk in smart derivatives
CME, Eurex rebuff calls to compensate members for losses
BlackRock and BNP want CCPs that recover from a default to reimburse members and clients
Cross-border trading could suffer under IM rules
Conflicting US and EU cash reinvestment rules may force buy side to post bonds
Clearing members in cash clash with Apac CCPs
Banks and clearing houses wrangle over who should pay for losses on invested collateral
Margin exchange threshold relief: get out of jail free?
‘Game-changing’ IM exchange threshold relief may not be the phase five free pass it first appears
FCMs’ required client margin up 29% in 2019
Citi still far and away the largest FCM
BNP leads a comeback for Europe’s clearers
Brexit, leverage ratio tweaks and concentration fears could help European banks compete with US FCMs
Eurex members divided over liquidity risk charges
Banks say proposed charge too conservative, debate whether add-on should be charged directly to clients
Custody battle: competing tensions put IM prep in jeopardy
Conflicting custody interests and delayed docs call IM phase five readiness into question
OCC updates default auction rules to encourage buy-side bids
Clearer’s proposed changes follow client fears of being locked out
Top five clearing members dominate CCPs
Thirteen of 25 clearing services surveyed have 50% or more open positions in hands of top five members
At CCPs, sovereign bonds are top IM collateral
Government debt makes up 48% of IM on average among top clearing houses
EU council dials back on margin haircuts for CCP resolution
Lawmakers close avenues for regulators to dip into non-defaulting members’ initial margin