For Immediate Release Wednesday, November 23, 2005
For More Information Contact:
Louise Marshall, ISDA New York, (212) 901-6000; lmarshall@isda.org
NEW YORK, Wednesday, November 23, 2005 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) announced today that more than 1400 institutions have signed up to its Novation Protocol, the industry solution addressing timing and procedures for the transfer of interest rate and credit derivative trades to a third party.
With just one week remaining until the November 30 closure date, the number of firms that have signed up to the terms of the ISDA Novation Protocol sets a new record for adherence to this type of multilateral solution.
“The ISDA Board is extremely pleased with the sign-up rate to the ISDA Novation Protocol and the commitment this demonstrates by participants across the industry to advancing this critical process,” said Robert Pickel, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, ISDA.
The protocol is a device that enables firms to amend on a multilateral basis with other adhering parties the terms of its ISDA Master Agreement or other specified agreement, as may become necessary through a change in market practice or reference data. The device was first utilized by ISDA in 1998 with the introduction of European Monetary Union (EMU). At that time, 1115 firms adhered to ISDA’s EMU Protocol, enabling them to amend a range of reference rates to currencies that were replaced by the euro. In recent months, the protocol device has been used to allow participants to amend the terms of outstanding trades on credit default swap indices from a physical to a cash settlement mechanism.
About ISDA
ISDA is the global trade association representing leading participants in
the privately negotiated derivatives industry. ISDA was chartered in 1985,
and today has more than 650 member institutions from 47 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.
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