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Dear ISDA Member: As we enter the New Year, we do so with new leadership. In 2004 we welcomed Jonathan Moulds and Michele Faissola as our new Chairman and Vice Chairman. Jonathan, who is Head of International Debt and Equity Markets at Bank of America, and Michele, who is Global Head of Rates at Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets Division, bring extensive expertise and experience to their new roles. We are very pleased to have Jonathan and Michele in these roles to help lead us through the fresh challenges and opportunities ahead. Jonathan replaces Keith Bailey of Merrill Lynch Capital Services, who had served as ISDA Chairman since March 2000. Michele replaces Henning Bruttel of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, who had served as ISDA Vice Chairman since April 2002. We at ISDA would like to thank Keith and Henning for their service, dedication and thoughtful contribution to the Association in these roles and wish them continued success in their careers in the industry. There were several other changes to the Board this past year. Douglas Bongartz-Renaud stepped down as Board Secretary and was succeeded in the role by Kaushik Amin. At the 2004 AGM, Jerry del Missier of Barclays Capital resigned from the ISDA Board and was succeeded from his firm by Benoit de Vitry. Masahiro Hosomi of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi resigned his Board position and was succeeded by Yusaku Manabe. Jose Manuel Hernandez Beneyto of Banco Santander Central Hispano was replaced in representing his firm by Marcelo Castro. During the course of the year, Luciano Steve stepped down upon his retirement from Intesa BCI. Giovanni Gorno Tempini of Banca Caboto joined in January, 2005, as did Robert Lawson of British Petroleum, a firm new to the Board. Eraj Shirvani joined, representing Credit Suisse First Boston. We thank all of these individuals for their dedication to ISDA over this and previous years. These changes occur as ISDA and the derivatives and risk management industry prepare to celebrate an important milestone: the Association’s 20th anniversary. ISDA plans to mark the occasion in a number of ways throughout the year, notably with a special anniversary dinner to honor the achievements of the Association and its Board over the last two decades. The celebration, which promises to be a major industry event, will be held on May 11, 2005 at London’s Natural History Museum. We look forward to welcoming many of you to this historic event. ISDA’s 20th Annual General Meeting in Barcelona is another opportunity to celebrate our anniversary with us. To highlight the event, ISDA will produce an anniversary publication with RISK magazine that will further explore the phenomenal growth of derivatives and the role ISDA has played and continues to play. The past year for the Association has posed a range of challenging issues that have attracted the commitment of many ISDA members, Board and staff. The use of privately negotiated derivatives worldwide continued to soar. ISDA’s Mid-Year 2004 Market Survey shows that notional outstandings of interest rate derivatives grew almost 16 percent to $164.5 trillion, equity derivatives grew 9.7 percent to $3.8 trillion, and credit derivatives grew 44 percent to $5.4 trillion in the first six months of the year. The robust growth of the industry is reflected in ISDA’s continuing ability to attract new firms to the Association. During 2004, we welcomed 45 new members, bringing our total membership to 624 firms based in more than 47 countries. The breadth and scope of ISDA’s membership, coupled with the expertise and talent its members bring to industry issues, are largely responsible for the Association’s continuing success in representing the derivatives business as we work in support of our mission. We saw this dynamic play out in a number of areas over the past year, including the publication by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of its long awaited revised Capital Accord. After years of active involvement in the reform of the Accord, ISDA’s assessment of the outcome was largely positive. We continue our work with the Committee as it moves toward implementation, specifically on issues where national discretions may result in inconsistent approaches being adopted by different regulators and on the capital treatments of double default risk and counterparty risk. 2004 also saw the issuance of new regulations for derivatives in China. ISDA applauds implementation of the Interim Rules on Derivatives Business of Financial Institutions by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The Association and its membership were instrumental in lobbying for an appropriate legal and regulatory framework within the People’s Republic of China and in advising and commenting on the Commission’s draft rules throughout the process. Documentation and netting remain fundamental to ISDA’s work. We continued to expand the number of jurisdictions for which we obtain legal opinions on the enforceability of netting and collateral provisions of the ISDA Master Agreements, adding netting opinions for Greece, the Channel Islands and Poland. ISDA’s efforts to accelerate automated processing of OTC derivatives also stepped up in 2004 with an implementation plan that sets forth guidelines for improving operational efficiency in OTC derivatives processing, and recommends market-wide automation by 2006. The plan centers on adoption of Financial products Markup Language (FpML), the ISDA-led protocol, which in 2004 expanded to include all major product groups. Educational outreach efforts, including ISDA conferences, also grew in 2004. Over 700 members attended the 19th Annual General Meeting in Chicago, and we were pleased to see many of you at our regional conferences in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo and Singapore, which focused on the effects of the new Capital Accord. By popular demand, we continued to hold regional Fundamentals of Derivatives seminars. We also instituted Demystifying Derivatives seminars for regional press in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 80 editors and reporters attending these events. Another part of ISDA’s educational outreach during the year included a survey of inter-dealer exposures after giving effect to netting and collateral. Published at the Chicago AGM, the survey found on average, a major dealer’s five largest net interdealer exposures are about two percent of its entire derivatives exposure. The ISDA 2004 Margin Survey further emphasized efforts of market participants to reduce exposures, revealing a 41 percent increase in the amount of collateral in circulation to $1.02 trillion. Another first, ISDA’s survey of the academic community’s perceptions of derivatives, revealed that finance professors at the world’s top business schools believe derivatives help companies manage financial risk more effectively and have a beneficial impact on the global financial system. As we prepare for a year of celebration and remembrance, we do so knowing
that our success representing the interests of the privately negotiated
derivatives industry would not have been possible without the support
of our members. We thank you for your membership and extend to you our
best wishes for the coming year. Robert G. Pickel |
| Officers |
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| Jonathan P. Moulds, Chairman Head of International Debt and Equity Markets Bank of America |
Michele Faissola, Vice Chairman Managing Director and Global Head of Rates, Global Markets Division Deutsche Bank |
| Kaushik Amin, Secretary Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Interest Rate Products Lehman Brothers Inc. |
Diane Genova, Treasurer Managing Director & Co-General Counsel Investment Bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Company |
Directors |
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| Michael Bass Global Head, Interest Rate Derivatives Standard Chartered Bank |
Yusaku Manabe Deputy General Manager, Business Development Office, Structured Products Division II Mitsubishi Securities Co., Ltd. |
| Douglas Bongartz-Renaud Managing Director, Group Risk Management Division ABN Amro Bank N.V. |
Sean Notley Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Interest Rate Derivatives & Government Bond Trading Morgan Stanley |
| Marcelo Castro Head of Treasury for Europe Grupo Santander Central Hispano |
Ernest Patrikis Senior Vice President and General Counsel American International Group, Inc |
| Benoit de Vitry Global Head of Commodities and Emerging Markets Rates Barclays Capital |
Robert Pickel Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer ISDA |
| Giovanni Gorno Tempini Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Banca Caboto |
Riccardo Rebonato Global Head of CBFM Market Risk and Head of Quantitative Research & Quantitative Sales Royal Bank of Scotland |
| Hidetaka Hara Executive Director, Global Markets Planning Department Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. |
Thomas Riggs Managing Director Goldman Sachs |
| Frédéric Janbon Managing Director and Global Head of Fixed Income Trading BNP Paribas |
Eraj Shirvani Managing Director, Head of European and Pacific Credit Trading Credit Suisse First Boston Europe Limited |
| Robert Lawson Global Business Unit Leader - Finance, Energy & Risk Management British Petroleum |
Kenneth Tremain Managing Director, Head of North American Interest Rate Derivative Trading and Government Bond Trading Citigroup |
| The International Swaps and Derivatives Association is perhaps best known for addressing issues from a legal, regulatory and documentation perspective, all of which naturally remain critical to ISDA’s mission. An increasing part of its role lies also in the operational processing of the transactions that are at the fundamental core of its membership’s businesses.
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ISDA
MEMBER PORTAL |
| In 2004 ISDA launched the
latest of its technology initiatives - the ISDA Portal. The ISDA Portal
is a gateway to a wealth of information available to ISDA members in an
interactive online environment. It has been personalized for each member
and can be modified by each member to create a customized layout. A personal
account has been created for each member. The ISDA Portal provides members
quick access to netting and collateral opinions and ISDA event information.
It also allows members to |
join committees in real time and to quickly update their contact information. More than one-third of ISDA members have enrolled in the ISDA Portal since its launch. ISDA is committed to delivering timely and relevant information on the derivatives industry and will continue to seek new and innovative ways in which technology can be used to enhance the services it provides to its members. The ISDA Portal can be accessed through www.isda.org or directly at my.isda.org. |
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| ISDA’s Collateral Committee works towards the increased efficient functioning of collateralization of privately negotiated derivatives transactions through its efforts in relation to credit support documentation, guidelines, standards and collateral law reform.
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| The Association engaged in a wide range of documentation projects in 2004 and 2005, covering commodities, credit, equity, foreign exchange and interest rates, as well as new product areas.
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| In 2004, ISDA continued its development of FpML Version 4.0, which covers all major asset classes, including interest rate, credit, equity and FX derivatives. Work also began on Version 4.1, which offers enhancements in pricing and risk and credit derivatives. Integral to the advancement of the standard is education, which remains a top focus for ISDA in 2005.
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| In 2004, the Operations Committee and its various Working Groups continued to focus on its long-term vision and framework for standardization and automation in OTC derivatives operations.
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Focused on the issues affecting the business and practice of credit derivatives transactions, the Committee seeks to find consensus among dealers and end-users (both hedgers and protection sellers) and portfolio managers on the most efficient, effective and appropriate means of conducting OTC credit derivatives transactions.
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| The Energy, Commodities and Developing Products Committee strive to meet the dynamic needs of the business while fulfilling ISDA’s mission of encouraging prudent and efficient development of privately negotiated derivatives.
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| The Committee continues to focus its efforts on streamlining the process supporting trading activities in OTC derivatives through the creation and promotion of standardized documentation and by assisting in the development of a more liquid market. The Committee also follows issues of global market significance in the interest of furthering best practices.
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| In 2004, the focus continued to be on Europe and the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for over 7,000 listed companies. Controversy surrounded the EU Commission’s rejection of parts of IAS 39. The Commission chose instead to endorse a “carved-out” version that will be exclusive to the EU. ISDA continues to be involved in attempts to resolve the outstanding areas of concern.
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| ISDA has continued to work toward a regulatory framework that ensures flexibility and legal certainty for derivatives in the European Union (EU), without creating regulatory hurdles to product development.
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| Building on the Association’s success in educating Congress and establishing key relationships, ISDA undertook several new initiatives as it worked to respond to heightened Congressional scrutiny of the financial markets.
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| ISDA continues to work with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors and European Institutions to further enhance the Capital Accord and ensure that it is implemented and interpreted consistently by all relevant regulatory bodies.
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| ISDA continues to work with the US Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the UK’s Inland Revenue to pass tax legislation and issue related regulations which provide certainty for market participants, reflect established market practice and sound policy, and encourage continued growth in the privately negotiated derivatives industry.
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| Over the course of the past year, ISDA has continued its dialogue with regional regulatory bodies and members in the Asia-Pacific region to encourage development of the regional privately negotiated derivatives markets and to promote sound risk management practices.
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| The focus of the past year has been on providing certain Canadian-specific documentation add-ons to existing ISDA publications, in order to further service the Canadian derivatives market. In addition, we have focused on legislative developments in the area of OTC derivatives regulation and collateral law reform.
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| ISDA’s Central & Eastern Europe Committee focuses on the progress EU accession and candidate countries have made in implementing derivatives-relevant EU legislation, mainly the Collateral and Winding Up Directives and related legislation. The scope of this Committee also extends to other countries, including Islamic jurisdictions through the Islamic Finance Law Group.
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| The Latin America Committee recognizes that the region is an important emerging financial center and is working to promote financial law reform and growth in the OTC derivatives markets. A review of the new Brazilian insolvency legislation may lead to the Association commissioning a new netting opinion for the |
jurisdiction, though at the time of writing it appeared that this would not be needed. The Association has also commissioned a collateral opinion for Mexico. At the time of writing, it also appeared likely that a netting opinion for Barbados will be commissioned some time during the spring. |
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| Over the past year, ISDA has continued to work toward the development and expansion of the activities in the privately negotiated derivatives markets through various committees and conferences. ISDA also continued its dialogues with Japan’s regulators for a framework to be proportionate with region’s market and risk management practices.
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| ISDA continues to believe that the industry benefits from increased understanding of derivatives by policymakers and by the public. In addition, ISDA continues to conduct surveys and other research activities that further the level of general understanding of its members, regulators and others.
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| ISDA’s membership now totals over 625 financial institutions, government entities, corporations and professional service providers, spanning 47 countries across six continents. Since January 2004, 64 new members have joined the Association. ISDA continues to work through its active committees, working groups and educational efforts to address ongoing industry needs.
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| FUNDAMENTALS
OF DERIVATIVES SEMINAR |
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| January 21 –
New York February 23 – London February 25 – Vienna March 18 – Copenhagen April 28 – Paris June 9 – New York July 15 – Hong Kong |
September 14
– Boston October 4 – Chicago October 6 – San Francisco October 25 – Singapore November 30 – Washington December 6 – Connecticut |
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| UNDERSTANDING
THE NEW ISDA DOCUMENTATION CONFERENCE |
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| January 22 –
New York February 24 – London February 26 – Vienna February 27 – Frankfurt March 19 – Copenhagen April 29 – Paris |
April 30 –
Zurich June 10 – New York September 15 – Boston September 23 – London October 5 – Chicago October 7 – San Francisco |
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| DOCUMENTING
& CONFIRMING CREDIT DERIVATIVES TRANSACTIONS |
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| May 5 –
New York May 12 – London |
November 9 –
New York November 17 – London |
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| DOCUMENTING
& CONFIRMING EQUITY DERIVATIVES TRANSACTIONS |
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| January 23 – New York June 11 – New York |
September 24 – London | |
| UNDERSTANDING
COLLATERAL ARRANGEMENTS & THE ISDA CREDIT SUPPORT DOCUMENTS CONFERENCE |
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| May 6 – New York May 13 – London |
November 10 – New
York November 18 – London |
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| OPERATIONS
TRAINING COURSE |
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| March 16 & 17 –
London April 20 & 21 – New York |
October 14 & 15 – New York | |
| FUNDAMENTALS
OF ISDA DOCUMENTATION CONFERENCE |
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| February 9 – Mumbai
March 11 – Seoul |
July 27 - Bangkok | |
| LITIGATION
IN THE OTC DERIVATIVES MARKET |
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| March 9 – New York | March 10 – London | |
| CREDIT
DERIVATIVES CONFERENCE |
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| July 13 – Tokyo | July 16 – Hong Kong | |
| NEW
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE TRASNFER OF CREDIT RISK |
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| November 10 – London
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November 18 – New York | |
| FUNDAMENTALS
OF CREDIT DERIVATIVES SEMINAR |
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| May 4 – New York May 11 – London |
November 8
– New York November 16 – London |
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| ISDA
ENERGY, COMMODITIES & DEVELOPING PRODUCTS CONFERENCE |
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| April 22 – London
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November 17 – New York | |
| FpML
TRAINING COURSE |
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| June 17 – New York | December 8 – London | |
| 2004
DOCUMENTATION INITIATIVES IN COLLATERAL, CREDIT & COMMODITY DERIVATIVES CONFERENCE |
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| July 27 – Toronto | ||
| ISDA REGIONAL MEMBER CONFERENCE |
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| September 22 – London
September 29 – New York October 21 – Sydney |
October 26
– Singapore October 28 – Tokyo |
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ISDA 19th AGM |
2004 ISDA FpML CONFERENCE |
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| March 31 – April 2 – Chicago | December 9 – London | |
In 2004, 659 individuals from 232 companies attended ISDA’s monthly risk management seminars, with an average attendance of 86 people.
| EUROPE |
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| January 21 | An update on recent developments in Basel 2: distinguishing between expected and unexpected loss – Speaker: Paul Sharma |
| February 17 | ISDA Counterparty Risk Notes on "alpha" – Speaker: Juan Grana |
| March 16 | Diversification Between Different Risk Types: Understanding the Importance & Examining the Latest Techniques – Speaker: Sebastian Fritz |
| April 13 | Reducing economic capital through securitization – Speaker: Michael Dickinson |
| May 18 | Avoiding Default: New Techniques for Managing Credit Risk – Speaker: Jean-Martin Aussant |
| June 15 | Management of credit risks within a trading environment – Speaker: Craig MacDougall |
| July 13 | Achieving a Singular View of Trading Operations Worldwide – Speaker: Pascal Emile |
| August 17 | Making Sense out of Metrics – Speaker: Michael Finlay |
| September 14 | Translating Basel into Brussels – Speaker: Patrick Pearson |
| October 13 | Risk Management - The view from Lloyds – Speaker: Andrew Gurney |
| November 16 | The Market For Inflation Derivatives - Development And Application – Speaker: Julian Tams |
| NORTH
AMERICA |
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| September 23 | The Role of Collateral in Risk Management: Dealer and Fund Manager Perspectives – Speakers: Michael Clarke & Ila Eckhoff |
| November 10 | Dealing With Operational Risk: A Global Firm Perspective – Speakers: Speakers: Jay Newberry & Joe Sabatini |