European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma)
Review of 2012: January – March
FX Week looks back on the biggest stories of 2012, starting with the first quarter. To read the original stories, click on the links in black
Spotlight on: Mark Spanbroek, European Principal Traders Association
The EPTA’s vice-chairman and secretary-general talks to Robert Mackenzie Smith about the association’s mission to represent the interests of high-frequency traders to regulators, legislators and the market in general
Emir clearing deadlines remain a challenge, industry warns
Preparing the necessary documentation for client clearing can take many months and could delay clearing under Emir, warn banks and clearing houses
Euro will survive and RMB will be convertible by 2017, say industry leaders
Speaking in the final panel discussion at the FX Week Europe conference, senior market participants made their predictions about how the FX market will evolve over the next five years
Buy side weighs risk mitigation against clearing costs
Buy-side firms look certain to bear some of the costs that result from mandatory central clearing, with some suggesting they might look to clear non-mandated products, were it not for the prohibitive costs
Esma backtracks on indirect clearing
Final rules remove two controversial proposals, but revive regulators' concerns about access to clearing for small firms
Trading places, September 17, 2012
New hires at BNP Paribas, TD Securities, Esma and Forex Club
Pressure mounts on Esma over clearing exemption
Responses to Esma's draft technical standard on Emir call for the agency to clarify its position on FX clearing - with some suggestion NDFs could be exempt
Regulators leave door open for FX exemption from margin rules
A senior group of regulators has recognised the possible case for an exemption from margin rules for non-cleared FX swaps and forwards - but possibly not those of longer maturities
Esma exemption provides corporate relief
Corporates relieved at Esma clearing exemption, but express concern about uncertainty over uncleared derivatives
EU regulators prepare for frenetic countdown to Emir deadline
Senior officials expressed concern yesterday about the volume of work on derivatives reform that must be completed in a very short timeframe
US Treasury’s FX exemption hangs in the balance
A year after the US Treasury's proposed regulatory exemption for FX swaps and forwards, the position has never been confirmed - and some believe it may be reconsidered
Esma must replicate US Treasury’s FX exemption, says EC official
Patrick Pearson, head of the European Commission unit that drafted Emir, says FX swaps and forwards must be exempt from clearing under Esma standards
European regulators undecided on initial margin rules for uncleared swaps
Counterparties will have to post variation margin on uncleared trades – but questions remain over which firms will have to post and collect initial margin
Esma under pressure to opine on asset-class specifics in Emir
A public hearing on Emir draft technical standards earlier this week leaves market participants with ongoing concerns over asset-class specifics and implementation timeframe
FSA: facing up to cross-jurisdiction conflicts
David Lawton, head of market infrastructure and policy at the UK’s Financial Services Authority, talks to Michael Watt
The perils of one-size-fits-all
Regulators need to come up with a calibrated approach to calculating collateral requirements for uncleared derivatives, writes Joel Clark
Margin rules for uncleared FX rest with regulatory working groups
Regulators must adopt a calibrated approach to mandated collateral so that short-dated FX swaps and forwards are not caught up in the rules unnecessarily, argue market participants
Trading places, February 20, 2012
Appointments at MarketAxess, Esma, Iosco and the WMBAA
Emir clearing rules agreed, but calls grow for extension to Esma deadlines
Delays in the adoption of Europe's new clearing rules have eaten into the time Esma has to meet its June 30 rule-writing deadline
Greatest risk of regulatory arbitrage is for non-cleared FX, says Esma's chair
Bilateral collateralisation might not be applied to FX swaps and forwards under the Dodd-Frank Act, but will be applied in the European Union, says Steven Maijoor
Trading places, November 14, 2011
New appointments at CBA, Integral and RBS while top roles are reshuffled at Isda, Esma and the FSB
Trade associations lobby for clarity on extraterritoriality
Eight trade associations lobby Geithner and Barnier to address extraterritorial concerns
European Parliament rejects Swinburne’s forex exemption
Crucial plenary vote on Emir on July 5 retains suggested amendments to recognise unique nature of FX derivatives, but stripped out explicit calls for an exemption