IRD Block Trading Activity in the First Quarter of 2020

Interest rate derivatives (IRD) trading volumes increased in in the first quarter of 2020, driven largely by coronavirus-related market volatility. Despite this increase, however, the share of IRD block trades decreased, especially for fixed-for-floating interest rate swaps (IRS), indicating less liquidity for large-sized trades.

Total capped notional of fixed-for-floating IRS transactions decreased by 16.0% in the first quarter of 2020 versus the first quarter of 2019, while the number of trades with capped notional declined by 8.0% over the same period. The share of IRS trades with capped notional relative to total fixed-for-floating IRS transactions fell to 6.9% in the first quarter of 2020 from 9.5% in the first quarter of 2019.

This report uses data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation swap data repository. It, therefore, only covers trades that are required to be disclosed under US regulations.

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Documents (1) for IRD Block Trading Activity in the First Quarter of 2020

ISDA Omnibus Canadian Representation Letter

On September 2, ISDA published the Omnibus Canadian Representation Letter, which combines previously published representation letters drafted to assist firms in compliance with Canadian trade reporting, business conduct, regulatory margin and clearing classification rules. The Omnibus Canadian Letter is designed...

Joint Response on Cross-margining

On August 31, ISDA and FIA submitted a letter to the US Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the agencies’ joint request for comment on the implementation of portfolio margining and cross-margining...

Response to SEC on FICC Guaranty Fund

On September 1, ISDA and FIA submitted a joint response to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), supporting the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation’s (FICC) proposal to establish a dedicated guaranty fund at its government securities division (GSD). FICC had...