Standard docs may not prevent clearing contract crunch

A lack of standard documentation has held up the growth of client clearing, so the launch of a new Futures Industry Association-International Swaps and Derivatives Association contract should speed things up – but it’s not a panacea. Lukas Becker reports

Dale Braithwait

Since the beginning of 2011, a derivatives industry working group has been trying to avert ‘docugeddon’ – a term used during an International Swaps and Derivatives Association conference last month to describe the nightmare scenario in which over-the-counter derivatives clearing rules result in vast numbers of bespoke contracts, as thousands of clients hammer out agreements with clearing members. The industry’s plan was to come up with new, standardised documents that would reduce or eliminate