ISDA®   

INTERNATIONAL SWAPS AND DERIVATIVES ASSOCIATION

NEWS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release Wednesday, April 9, 2003

For More Information, Please Contact:

Louise Marshall, ISDA Tokyo, 813.3943.7839; Fax 813.3943.7819; lmarshall@isda.org

Or Jennifer Iannibelli, Kennedy & Company New York 914.961.2436; Fax 914.961.2476; jennifer@kennedycom.com

 

 

ISDA ANNOUNCES MASTER AGREEMENT PROTOCOL,

MANDARIN AND JAPANESE LANGUAGE MASTER AGREEMENTS

 

TOKYO, JAPAN WEDNESDAY APRIL 9, 2003 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association today announced its plans to launch a 2003 ISDA Master Agreement Protocol that will bring into line all existing ISDA documentation with the new 2002 Master Agreement for those parties choosing to adhere to the Protocol within a discrete period.

 

“The 2003 Master Agreement Protocol will facilitate wholesale updating of the entire library of ISDA publications to take into account the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement,” said Robert Pickel, ISDA’s Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. “The scope of this work is extraordinarily extensive and represents a significant savings of time, effort and cost to members and their counterparties who to incorporate wholesale the benefits of the 2002 Master Agreement into all their ISDA transactions.”

 

The library of ISDA documents refers in various provisions to the 1992 Master Agreement and to various terms and provisions in that 1992 agreement. The purpose of the Protocol is to facilitate the amendment of ISDA definitional booklets and Bridges for those firms that wish to update their documentation to refer to the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement. The 2003 ISDA Protocol is being drafted by Allen & Overy and will be available mid-year 2003.

 

ISDA also announced today the circulation of pre-publication drafts of Mandarin and Japanese language versions of the Master Agreement to its membership. Publication of these documents will facilitate expanded use of the Agreement throughout the region and is anticipated in the coming weeks.

 

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 590 member institutions from 46 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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