COVID-19 and CCP Risk Management Frameworks

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.

FRTB Impact on Correlation Trading

The capitalization of the correlation trading portfolio (CTP) under the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book will have an adverse economic impact for users of these instruments. In particular, there is a lack of clarity and consistency in the application...

A Path to Greater CFTC-SEC Alignment

Earlier this week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a roundtable on regulatory harmonization – an initiative we wholeheartedly support. The US regulatory framework has evolved over time to facilitate financial markets...