FIA works closely with member firms to develop industry-standard agreements and other documentation that all market participants can use to support their trading and clearing functions as well as ensure regulatory compliance in different jurisdictions. FIA houses these documents on our Documentation Services platform. The platform is divided into three main parts:
FIA CCP Risk Review™
FIA’s CCP Risk Review™ summarizes the rules and procedures of CCPs worldwide. Written in practical, comparative terms and incorporating key implications of applicable law where relevant, the FIA CCP Risk Review assists market participants and regulators in scrutinizing and understanding the risks relating to CCPs, for both clearing members and clients. (Subscription-only access)
European Documentation Library
FIA’s European Documentation Library puts valuable legal opinions and client terms of business at your fingertips. This documentation helps you meet regulatory requirements and/or common commercial objectives such as facilitating commercial dealings or addressing areas of capital or risk.Gain access to valuable documentation like industry standard EMIR and MiFID II/R compliant state-of-the-art terms of business, legal opinions on the effectiveness of standard FIA netting and collateral provisions, as well as CCP netting opinions, OTC execution agreement template and CCP risk reviews, by subscribing to the FIA Documentation Library. Access and fees vary based on your membership in FIA and the jurisdictions covered by the documentation. Highlights from the Documentation Library include:
FIA TERMS OF BUSINESS 2018 & USER GUIDE
Whether your firm provides clearing services for exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) or for cleared OTC derivatives, or executing services for ETD, you need up-to-date contractual documentation that is compliant with the latest regulatory developments and business practices. FIA, in partnership with Clifford Chance LLP, released in mid-2018 our fully updated and comprehensive state-of-the-art set of industry standard contractual terms for derivatives clearing—the FIA Terms of Business 2018. The related User Guide assists firms in understanding the regulatory background to most of the provisions and provides alternative/optional clauses that firms may use in the FIA Terms of Business 2018.
Following a review of the FIA Terms of Business 2018 and associated documents, FIA published several updates to its comprehensive suite of industry standard contractual terms for derivatives execution and clearing in November 2021. The review focused on recent UK and EU regulatory developments and reforms, as well as on member feedback. The updated FIA Terms of Business 2018 includes the following templates and materials: FIA Terms of Business 2018 – Version 2.0; Update Patch 2021; Updated User Guide to the FIA Terms of Business 2018; New Indirect Clearing Terms (suitable for longer chains indirect clearing); and Updated versions of the Indirect Clearing Terms published in 2018.
FIA held a webinar in January 2022, where speakers discussed the changes that have been made to the FIA Terms of Business 2018. Access the Briefing on updated FIA clearing documentation), the slide deck and the ToBs Infosheet for more information.
INDIRECT CLEARING DOCUMENTATION
New regulations issued under EMIR (for cleared OTC) and MiFIR (for ETDs) now regulate indirect clearing arrangements and impose specific requirements on market participants that enter into these arrangements. FIA has developed a suite of indirect clearing documents to help your firm document these indirect clearing arrangements and help meet some of the indirect clearing requirements. Access a suite of indirect clearing documents that provide a range of jurisdictional risk disclosures, jurisdictional legal due diligence documents/ questionnaires and contractual terms, which you can tailor to fit your firm’s specific business model and client base.
LEGAL OPINIONS
FIA’s comprehensive library of legal opinions help subscribing firms address certain regulatory capital and accounting requirements. The FIA legal opinions cover a range of jurisdictions world-wide, CCPs, exposure-types, counterpart-types and agreements. FIA worked with external counsel in relevant jurisdictions to develop each opinion, which are based on FIA template opinions to ensure consistency and high-quality analysis. In addition, FIA (jointly with ISDA) separately offers netting opinions to US FCMs that cover the US ISDA/FIA Cleared Derivatives Addendum.
U.S. Documentation Library
FIA’s US Documentation Library contains a wide range of guidance documents and template agreements and disclosures. These include standard give-up agreements, client clearing and execution agreements, risk disclosure statements and a number of exchange-specific agreements.
FIA Documentation Services Platform
To gain access to the FIA Documentation Services platform, please contact Pat Onoapoi. Please note that access to the platform does not give you access to the subscription-only documentation.
