United Kingdom (UK)
UK Treasury opens door to ditching Mifid open access rules
Champion of competition in derivatives clearing may throw in the towel
EU fund managers confused by new ESG designations
Vague rules leave managers unsure which categories to apply to their funds
Cherry-picking fears as banks pull negative rates commitments
As UK mulls negative rates, banks desert Isda protocol and traders warn of gaming the system
Shell bides time over Isda fallbacks
Oil major will adopt Isda protocol as “insurance policy” despite hedge accounting concerns
FCA sees ‘no case for delay’ on Libor cessation ruling
Synthetic Libor powers set for spring consultation as fallbacks become effective and IBA analyses cessation feedback
End ‘senseless’ ban on midpoint trading, asset managers urge
Investors decry European rule that forces them to trade some equities in whole tick sizes
ECB grants post-Brexit reprieve on large exposures limit
Exemption for intra-group exposures to UK will be preserved pending a decision on equivalence
BoE to test UK banks against double-dip Covid recession
Stress simulation falls short of actual coronavirus crisis shock to the UK economy
Brexit drives swaps trading to US platforms
Lack of equivalence forces dealers to shift euro and sterling swaps out of European and UK venues
BoE reassures foreign banks on post-Brexit booking models
EU banks that lost passporting rights after Brexit are unlikely to have to establish UK subsidiaries
LCH Ltd sent record €6bn VM call to one clearing member in Q3
Largest estimated payment obligation in the event of a member default also climbs quarter on quarter
Trading heads call for reform of double volume caps
Asset managers endorse UK move on caps and back changes to EU’s unloved share trading restrictions
The lonely Londoners: doubts plague UK quest for equivalence
Planned MoU won’t automatically bring equivalence, leaving firms in limbo for unknown duration
IBA, Refinitiv go live with regulated term Sonia rates
First deals linked to new benchmarks are likely to be in trade finance
Skin in the game of top CCPs varies
The average default fund has less than 4% of total resources contributed by the host CCP itself
UK offers unlimited dark trading on lost EU stocks
FCA gives London dark pools an edge over EU rivals, but will fund managers use it?
At LCH Ltd, IM levels edged lower in Q3
Peak aggregate initial margin call for equities fund hit £3 billion
EU firms face margin threat as Brexit tips futures into OTC regime
Mid-2021 clearing, margin thresholds loom as LME, Ice futures lose exchange-traded status in EU
Inconsistent ESG scores force USS to make its own decisions
Pension fund needs ESG alternatives to bonds to help close its funding deficit
Dollar Libor reprieve sparks fallback uncertainty
Popular settings to end in June 2023; market seeks clarity over timing of fallback spread triggers
HSBC exec: measure culture through smarter surveillance
Machine learning could help gauge positive sentiment from surveillance logs, says Elhedery
Buffer stops? Why banks haven’t used Covid capital relief
Amid weak credit demand, banks haven’t availed themselves of capital buffers, but they still might
Term Sonia rivals don the same clothes
IBA mimics Refinitiv by adding Tradeweb quote data; Refinitiv denies IBA has ‘synthetic Libor’ edge
Esma warns of UK-sized hole in Europe’s fund leverage radar
Executive at hedge fund AQR also urges reform of EU leverage measures to better assess risk