Americas News
The latest industry and regulatory news affecting North and South America.
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Cybersecurity: New Standards for Market Infrastructure
Efforts are underway in Europe and the U.S. to strengthen industry protections against attacks on computer systems. Regulators in both regions are developing new standards for exchanges and clearinghouses, which are seen as critical to the operational security of financial markets.
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Dodd-Frank Fix
On Dec. 4, President Obama signed into law a transportation bill that includes a provision removing a barrier to the sharing of data on swap trading. The provision stripped away a requirement in Dodd-Frank that U.S.-based swap data repositories obtain a written indemnification agreement from overseas regulators seeking to access their data. This indemnification provision was intended to protect the confidentiality of the data, but proponents have warned that it effectively restricted foreign regulatory access to data.
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IDB Consolidation
ICAP in November entered into an £1.1 billion ($1.63 USD) agreement to sell its brokerage business to Tullett Prebon. Although ICAP will retain some ownership of the combined company, the move marks a decisive shift away from ICAP's origins as a voice broker. Going forward, the company will focus primarily on two main lines of business: post-trade services and electronic markets.
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Leverage Limitation
On Dec. 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted by a 3-1 margin to issue a proposed rule limiting how much investment companies such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds can invest in derivatives such as futures, forwards and swaps. The proposed rule also contains a number of requirements aimed at addressing the risks of holding derivatives in investment portfolios.
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New Options for Energy Clearing
On Sept. 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order granting Nodal Clear registration as a derivatives clearing organization. The order clears the way for Nodal Clear to provide clearing services for financially settled futures and options on futures executed on or through its affiliate, Nodal Exchange.
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Owner vs. Member
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 10 issued an order lifting a stay of approval on the OCC’s plan to raise additional capital and a second order initiating a review of the approval.
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Cybersecurity: NFA Sets Standards
The National Futures Association, the U.S. futures industry’s self-regulatory organization, has drafted standards that all NFA members will need to apply in protecting themselves from the risk of unauthorized access or attacks on their information systems.
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FIA issues customer notice regarding REMIT Registration and Reporting
This document summarizes the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) registration and reporting requirements, which enter into force on October 7, 2015 for certain exchange-traded energy futures and options and April 7, 2016 for certain over-the-counter energy contracts.
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FIA request to modify and extend OCR No-Action relief
FIA sent a letter to the CFTC requesting a modification and extension of the current no-action relief for Ownership and Control Reports Implementation Reporting Requirements. The full letter is available here, and the text follows.
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