Clearing
Cleared sovereign CDS volumes build as pandemic spreads
South Korea and Italy CDS vols dominate Ice Clear Credit and Ice Clear Europe, respectively
Coronavirus rout revives attacks on futures margining
FCMs call for permanently higher margins following “unprecedented” number of breaches
Banks rail against China CCPs’ loss-sharing policy
Controversial loss allocation technique remains unused during recent market routs, but banks want it banned
Of rats and men: would member compensation imperil CCPs?
CCPs and members split over whether compensation after default losses is moral hazard or fair
Oil price shock triggers big margin calls
Banks and exchanges worked through weekend in anticipation of oil collapse
Apac CCPs: we’ve come a long, long way together
Members still gripe about arcane policies, but risk management fundamentals are strong
The UK’s path to EU equivalence: détente or detour?
Race to meet post-Brexit cross-border trading requirements will go down to the wire
ECB mulls wider clearing house access to account facilities
Including CCPs in the Eurosystem may remove the need for them to seek a banking licence
FCMs clamour for formal rule on separate account margin
Costly compliance effort will be to no avail if CFTC relief expires in June 2021
Clearing members in cash clash with Apac CCPs
Banks and clearing houses wrangle over who should pay for losses on invested collateral
EU banks rue SA-CCR mismatch with US
European clearers are stuck with CEM until 2021, but some US banks are reluctant to switch early
FCMs’ required client margin up 29% in 2019
Citi still far and away the largest FCM
BNP leads a comeback for Europe’s clearers
Brexit, leverage ratio tweaks and concentration fears could help European banks compete with US FCMs
Eurex members divided over liquidity risk charges
Banks say proposed charge too conservative, debate whether add-on should be charged directly to clients
Watch out for Brexit cliff edge 2.0, experts warn
Measures to mitigate a sharp rupture for financial services could be less likely at end-2020
OCC updates default auction rules to encourage buy-side bids
Clearer’s proposed changes follow client fears of being locked out
LCH targets hardwired pre-cessation triggers
Proposal aims to align transfer pricing for cleared and bilateral markets in the event of split on ‘zombie Libor’ triggers
Top five clearing members dominate CCPs
Thirteen of 25 clearing services surveyed have 50% or more open positions in hands of top five members
At CCPs, sovereign bonds are top IM collateral
Government debt makes up 48% of IM on average among top clearing houses
EU council dials back on margin haircuts for CCP resolution
Lawmakers close avenues for regulators to dip into non-defaulting members’ initial margin
As business mix shifts, Eurex bulks up its default fund
Clearing house will raise charge to 9% from 7% as stress tests signal need for a fatter fund
Inside top CCPs’ default funds
Central banks favoured by CCPs to hold default resources
CCP risks, Sonia shift and CVA carve-out
The week on Risk.net, January 4–10, 2020
European CCPs home to 241 non-bank clearing members
Majority of non-financial counterparties are energy and power firms