After the market turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020, the ISDA Clearing Member Committee analyzed how central counterparty (CCP) risk management frameworks reacted to the crisis, based on feedback from CCPs.
The results show CCPs dealt with the crisis well, managing record volumes while most of their staff worked from home. In total, there were three member defaults or close-outs, none of which threatened financial stability. This reflects a more stable financial system overall: clearing members are much better capitalized and hold more liquidity compared to the last crisis.
However, some issues did emerge. Procyclical initial margin requirements exacerbated market stress at certain points. Clearing members also lacked timely information about backtesting breaches and procyclicality in margin models. The paper makes recommendations to address both of those points.
Documents (1) for COVID-19 and CCP Risk Management Frameworks
Latest
Response to Eurosystem Consultation on Appia
On April 22, ISDA responded to the Eurosystem consultation on the Appia roadmap. ISDA broadly supports the roadmap and its high level principles, while recommending that the principle on market access and integration should be expanded to explicitly address interoperability...
ISDA Responds to ESMA on PTRR Clearing Exemption
On April 20, ISDA submitted a response to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) consultation paper on a draft regulatory technical standard (RTS) for the post-trade risk reduction (PTRR) exemption from the derivatives clearing obligation under Article 4b of the...
Response on Competitiveness of EU Banking Sector
On April 17, ISDA responded to the European Commission’s (EC) targeted consultation on the competitiveness of the EU banking sector. The EU is aiming to bolster the ability of its financial markets and banking sector to grow, remain competitive and...
India Forum Scott O'Malia Opening Remarks
India Derivatives Markets Forum April 16, 2026 Opening Remarks Scott O’Malia, ISDA Chief Executive Good morning and welcome. This is the third year we’ve run the India Derivatives Markets Forum, and the number of people attending has grown each...