Emerging market benchmarks under threat from EU law

Heightened regulatory scrutiny discourages banks from participating in third-country benchmarks

Attempts to establish derivatives trading in Asia's emerging markets could be made more difficult by the EU's new benchmarking law, which is likely to further deter global banks from participating in the indexes required to price derivatives contracts reliably.

The development of an interest rate swap benchmark in Vietnam has struggled because of the reluctance of global banks to contribute their data. Europe's benchmark regulation – agreed by the EU and now undergoing consultation by Europe's