ISDA produces its Market Analysis to correspond with the release of the Bank for International Settlement’s (BIS) semi-annual statistical release. The BIS’s most recent release covered the period ending June 30, 2012.

Our reporting aims to integrate market data to show the impact of clearing, netting, compression and collateral on notional amounts and risk exposures in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets.

The Market Analysis draws on information sources including LCH.Clearnet’s SwapClear, TriOptima, the DTCC Trade Information Warehouse, Markit, ICE, CME, ISDA’s 2012 Margin Survey and other clearinghouses and trade vendors. Links to data sources are at the end of this paper. ISDA welcomes suggestions from readers regarding additional improvements to the Market Analysis.

The OTC derivatives market continues to provide essential risk management tools for all sectors of the global economy, for entities such as corporations, pension funds, investment firms, insurance companies and governments. The industry has worked very hard, using tools such as collateralization, portfolio compression and central clearing, to reduce risks in the system in accordance with G20 goals. Notwithstanding the very high levels of activity in the market, the use of these tools has enabled the industry to achieve a reduction in notional amounts outstanding and a reduction in gross credit exposure over the six-month period ending June 30, 2012.