Economic Sanctions Programs and Derivatives

ISDA published its whitepaper (available here) in 2019 to inform market participants and regulators of the unique challenges that economic sanctions programs could present to over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets.  Since that time, there has been a significant increase in the use of economic sanctions in furtherance of foreign policy goals in the US, the EU, the UK and beyond, which have raised issues for derivatives users.  These measures include the US Chinese Military company sanctions of 2020 and 2021 as well as the sanctions programs implemented across the globe in response to Russia’s invasion and ongoing occupation of Ukrainian territory from February 2022.  This paper examines the impact that sanctions programs have had on derivatives transactions since the publication of the 2019 whitepaper, considering the novel issues market participants have faced.  It also assesses if sanctions programs have been implemented in a manner broadly consistent with principles set forth in the whitepaper, and proposes where additional action or guidance from sanctions authorities would further reduce uncertainty around the scope of the sanctions measures and the related relief and further reduce the potential adverse effects on non-sanctioned entities.

Joint Paper on UK EMIR Reform

On July 1, ISDA and UK Finance published a paper, which recommended a set of reforms for the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (UK EMIR), carefully considering each EU EMIR 3.0 reform and asking whether we would wish to adopt...

Response to FCA on UK EMIR Reporting

On June 30, ISDA submitted a response to chapter 5 of the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) quarterly consultation CP25/16 on trade repository reporting requirements under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (UK EMIR). Chapter 5 proposes ‘Amendments to the...

CDS Trading Activity in EU, UK and US Markets

This report analyzes credit derivatives trading activity reported in Europe. The analysis shows European credit derivatives transactions based on the location of reporting venues (EU versus UK) and product type. The report also compares European-reported credit derivatives trading activity to...