ISDA & EMTA FX Emerging Markets Documentation

March 16, 2026

ISDA has agreed to expand its role in FX documentation and related issues for emerging markets, with EMTA, Inc., the trade association for emerging markets (“EMTA”) staff remaining involved to ensure maintenance of historical knowledge.

As part of the transition, ISDA has undertaken primary responsibility for the FX Definitions (including Annex A) and future NDF and NDO templates, as well as related market practice notes, guidance and amendment agreements. ISDA’s expanded role complements its work on the 2026 FX Definitions, which it recently co-published with EMTA.

ISDA also runs legal and non-legal working groups for members representing emerging markets, which can be joined on the MyISDA Committee Dashboard. These working groups are:

  1. ISDA-EMTA EM FX Steering Committee
  2. ISDA FX Africa Group
  3. ISDA FX Latin American Group
  4. ISDA FX Middle Eastern Group

All working groups and committees sit within ISDA’s existing governance structure and comply with applicable laws, including antitrust and competition laws.

ISDA now hosts existing EMTA Template Terms and FX and Currency Derivatives Market Practice Notes online.

For more information about how the documentation will evolve upon implementation of the 2026 FX Definitions in November 2027, please see the FX Definitions Update InfoHub.

Prior to the 2027 implementation of the 2026 FX Definitions, ISDA’s Guide to ISDA and EMTA FX Derivatives Documentation and Currency Provisions provides an overview of the existing suite of FX documentation and key currency provisions.

Please reach out to ISDA Legal Department (ISDALegal@isda.org) and ISDA Derivative Products and Infrastructure (ISDADerivativeProductsandInfrastructure@isda.org) if you have any questions.

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