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Americas News

The latest industry and regulatory news affecting North and South America.

  • Request for Confirmation on Notional Amount Calculation Methodology for Swaptions

    FIA PTG submits comments regarding the appropriate methodology for calculating “notional amount” with respect to certain options and swaptions (collectively “options”), as such term is used in the de minimis exception to the definition of “swap dealer” in the Final Rule, Further Definition of “Swap Dealer,” et al., 77 Fed. Reg. 30596 (May 23, 2012).

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  • FIA issues model disclosure form to assist FCMs in complying with CFTC regulation 1.71

    On July 13, the FIA issued a model disclosure form to assist futures commission merchants in complying with Regulation 1.71, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission rule that establishes information barriers between FCMs and affiliated swap dealers and major swap participants and requires FCMs to disclose to their customers conflicts of interest in the provision of trade execution or clearing services.

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  • FIA special report: CFTC discusses high-frequency trading

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission hosted a lengthy discussion of high-frequency trading at a public meeting of its Technology Advisory Committee on June 20.

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  • Special Report: CFTC examines High Frequency Trading

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission hosted a wide-ranging discussion of high-frequency trading at a meeting of its Technology Advisory Committee on March 29, 2012. CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia, who chairs the advisory committee, announced the formation of a subcommittee consisting of 24 experts from the private sector who will help the agency develop a definition of HFT and update its regulatory policies. During the discussion, representatives of Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group described their risk controls and surveillance systems in considerable detail. In addition, representatives of Getco and RGM Advisors gave their perspectives on the evolution of trading technology and their recommendations for how the CFTC should respond to the increase in automated trading.

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  • FIA publishes order handling Risk Management recommendations for Executing Brokers

    Building on recent FIA publications, including Market Access Risk Management Recommendations (April 2010) and Recommendations for Risk Controls for Trading Firms (November 2010), this document offers a number of recommendations for executing firms to consider both in designing policies for their own brokers that handle orders electronically and in dealing with customers that access the markets through a broker’s trading platform.

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  • Panel provides perspectives on high frequency trading and Its overall impact on the market

    The FIA Information Technology Division brought together a panel of expert practitioners on Sept. 1 to discuss high-frequency trading, explore common misperceptions about its impact on the exchange-traded markets, and explain its role in providing liquidity.

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  • FIA comments on regulatory responses to the May 2010 Flash Crash

    The FIA on July 28 submitted a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing its views on certain regulatory initiatives recommended by a joint advisory committee established by the two agencies in response to the market events of May 2010, also known as the “flash crash.”

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  • FIA Webinar: The FIA-ISDA Cleared Derivatives Execution Agreement

    This webinar will discuss the recently released FIA-ISDA Cleared Derivatives Execution Agreement--a template that can be used by participants in the cleared swaps markets in negotiating execution-related agreements with counterparties to over-the-counter derivatives that are intended to be cleared. This webinar will give an overview of the document and its intended use, take a closer look at specific provisions and explain the optional annexes.

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  • FIA PTG recommends risk controls for trading firms

    The FIA Principal Traders Group today released a report setting out a number of recommended risk controls for trading firms that have direct access to exchange matching engines.

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  • January - June 2010 Volume Trends -- FIA Volume Webinar

    An update on futures and options volume trends in the first half of 2010, covering regional and category trends and the products with the greatest growth in trading. 

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