ISDA®
INTERNATIONAL
SWAPS AND DERIVATIVES ASSOCIATION, INC.
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release, Friday, January 15, 2010
For More Information, Please Contact:
Cesaltine Gregorio, ISDA New York, +1 212-901-6019, cgregorio@isda.org
Deirdre Leahy, ISDA New York, +1 212-901-6021, dleahy@isda.org
Donna Chan, ISDA Hong Kong, +852 2200 5906, dchan@isda.org
ISDA Comments
on Progress
in Industry
Infrastructure Improvements
NEW YORK, Friday, January 15, 2010 – The
International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today commented on
the continuing progress of major member firms in their initiatives addressing
further improvements to the privately negotiated derivatives industry
infrastructure.
ISDA
and its members continue to be committed to the delivery against industry goals
in three key areas:
--
Strengthening and diversifying counterparty risk management through increased
use of clearinghouses by extending their use to a greater number of individual
market participants and product types;
--
Improving transparency by building and using trade repositories for interest
rate, CDS and equity derivative transactions; and
--
Further strengthening the operational infrastructure of the privately
negotiated derivatives business.
"With
the direct input of the supervisory community, we have made significant
progress in each of these areas and are determined to make more in the near
future in line with ongoing commitments," said Eraj Shirvani, Chairman of
ISDA and Head of Fixed Income EMEA at Credit Suisse. "We look forward to
working constructively with the New York Fed and other policymakers on these
initiatives."
In
a January 14 meeting with supervisors, the industry outlined its
accomplishments in the following areas:
--
Meeting clearing targets in respect of new and pre-existing eligible
trades;
--
Achieving buy-side clearing;
--
Delivering on a range of collateral management targets, including portfolio
reconciliation and dispute resolution procedures;
--
Establishment and go-live of trade repositories -- the industry interest rate
trade repository has recently gone live and an equity derivatives repository is
in build-out phase; and
--
Radically reducing, and in some product areas eliminating, confirmation
backlogs.
ISDA
and the industry have undertaken to deliver a further commitment letter to
supervisors on March 1, 2010, extending and building upon prior commitments.
About ISDA
ISDA,
which represents participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry,
is among the world’s largest global financial trade associations as measured by
number of member firms. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has over 810 member
institutions from 58 countries on six continents. These members include most of
the world’s major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives,
as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users
that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial
market risks inherent in their core economic activities. Information
about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's web site: www.isda.org.
ISDA® is a
registered trademark of the International Swaps & Derivatives Association,
Inc.