Swaps Clearing Deadline Nears

Swaps clearing deadline nears, as close to 250 to 300 U.S. investment managers are required to begin clearing swaps transactions by June 10th. According to Reuters, asset managers have been slow to create accounts with clearing houses for OTC derivatives, ahead of the mandatory deadline. This has led to an...

EU Transaction Tax Would Hurt Economies, Says ICAP

A proposed financial EU transaction tax would damage the region’s economies, says ICAP, one of the world’s largest inter-bank brokers. Reuters reports that the new rules would raise funding costs for governments and companies, and would necessitate financial activity to move outside of the tax...

CME Group Launches Swaps Clearing in London

CME Group Inc. has launched a clearing service for interest rate swaps in London. The news comes a week after U.S. regulators began implementing mandates for rate swap clearing at CME’s headquarters. Reuters reports that the exchange operator’s London-based CME Clearing Europe won approval from...

CFTC May Face Legal Challenge from Bloomberg

The CFTC is facing threats of legal action from Bloomberg over the differences in the proposed treatment of swaps and swap-futures margins. Bloomberg is preparing to launch a swap execution facility (SEF), or a trading venue that will offer trading in standardized swap instruments, which is regulated by the...

SEC Nominee White Vows ‘Bold and Unrelenting’ Enforcement

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nominee Mary Jo White, intends to tell lawmakers that she will bring a “bold and unrelenting” enforcement program to the agency if she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Reuters reports that Ms. White stated in a prepared testimony released ahead of her...

Major Banks Argue that Libor Lawsuits Should be Thrown Out

Lawyers for a number of the world’s biggest banks have asked a U.S. judge to throw out a collection of lawsuits accusing them of manipulating Libor, key interest rates, and cheating investors out of billions of dollars. The banks involved in the lawsuit include Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase...

OTC Derivatives Law Announced by South Korean Regulator

A bill set to establish central counterparties to clear over-the-counter derivatives has been approved in South Korea. Xinhua News Agency reports that South Korean lawmakers passed the revised bill on capital markets act that will allow the establishment of central counterparties (CCPs) for the clearing of...