Feature/Regulation
Prop traders sound alarm over EU capital regime
Non-banks fear topsy-turvy capital requirements under new rules based on clearing margin
Hope fades for threshold hike in new IM rules
Smaller buy-side firms could still escape compliance burden via expected regulatory guidance
Lingering questions over Mifid II
Nearly one year on from the fundamental changes to Europe’s trading rulebook brought by Mifid II, its overall impact is still unclear
As Brexit looms, Mifid transparency faces the chop
EU law and equivalent UK draft threaten to split and undermine trade disclosure rules
Day one of a no-deal Brexit: swaps and chaperones
Banks, platforms and repositories tee up EU entities – and dread the repapering crunch that would follow
Libor to become third-country benchmark under no-deal Brexit
UK-based reference rate would need to gain EU approval by end-2019 to avoid “unthinkable” disruption
Dealers sour on Mifid’s systematic internaliser label
SI decisions will take account of tougher pre-trade rules, client demand and Brexit
Mifid transparency has failed so far, say traders
Poor-quality, inaccessible data and the lack of instruments covered undermine use case
SNB: from floor to ceiling
Swiss National Bank may ‘begin to act as a ceiling on the exchange rate’, says HSBC
Swissie’s fate now depends on ECB, strategists say
Sudden directional turn in EUR/CHF is a welcome relief for the SNB, even though the move to 1.15 is thanks to the ECB
Volcker fights back as prop-trading ban comes under attack
Former Fed chair tells Risk.net that calls for total overhaul of eponymous rule are misplaced
Spread-betting groups look east amid regulatory crackdown
As regulators toughen up on spread-betting firms, the race is on to replicate the Japanese model
European bail-in buffers may stretch market-making capacity
New Basel capital exemptions could be too small if all EU banks have to issue bail-in bonds
Banks fear early rollout of EU margin rules for FX forwards
Industry calls on the European Commission to clarify when FX forwards will be subject to a variation margin requirement
Global Code must acknowledge inherent conflict in FX
Critics say the FX market is essentially full of contention and a prescriptive approach is needed
Algo experts caution against too prescriptive regulation
Such laws can do more harm than good, they say, and prevention of market impact is too high a standard
Mifid delay downgrades workload from unrealistic to challenging
But the task facing firms working to comply with the regulation is still daunting
Negative rates held for too long could lead to a bank run
Panellists say negative rates could have detrimental effects on the banking sector
Possibility of global crisis has resurfaced, panellists say
Attention turns from policy normalisation to the threat of global slowdown
Dealer-run platforms face hard choices under Mifid II
MTF, OTF or SI? Three options, but none that banks like
Farewell to self-regulation, goodbye self-policing
With a global code of conduct for FX due in May 2017, participants are only too keen to see the back of an unregulated market
FX Focus - The regulation blues
Senior bankers have often derided the Basel Committee’s intraday liquidity measure as an ineffective and burdensome piece of regulatory overkill. Nevertheless, they will be expected to implement it from January 2015. Readiness isn’t perfect, and banks…
Known unknowns: preparing for Sef-traded FX options
Robert Gray of Dion Global comments on recent regulatory developments
FX market participants express concern and confusion over Sef trading
Trading on swap execution facilities in the US was introduced in a cloud of confusion and uncertainty. The market seems to have recovered from the initial shock, but there are concerns that Europe’s take on Sef trading will do longer-lasting damage. By…