Unlevel playing field for CCP members concerns banks

The CFTC has proposed a $50 million cap on minimum capital requirements for clearing members, a move that could open membership to a number of smaller financial institutions not subject to Basel capital rules. Some bankers warn this could create an unlevel playing field, particularly around the capital charge for CCP default fund exposures. By Laurie Carver

The pace at which new regulations are flying out of the door on both sides of the Atlantic has long worried bankers, who argue certain requirements may not have been fully thought through and may lead to unintended consequences. The rules around central counterparties (CCPs) are a case in point, reckon some observers.

On the one hand, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is pushing for wider membership of clearing houses by proposing a cap on minimum capital requirements demanded by