We have come to the end of a regulatory super cycle that began with the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, and it's time to "spring clean" our regulatory closet. Over the last 15 years, governments have placed layers and layers of regulation on financial firms, some certainly justified but some excessive and overly prescriptive. The compliance costs of these regulations have a real impact on our economic growth and productivity.
CONTINUE READINGA recent policy document details the return of the UK’s recognition approach for regulating cross-border business that the UK helped develop nearly forty years ago. This nuanced change would unlock tremendous capacity for our industry to grow and return our markets to a more outcomes-based approach that could kick-start productivity in our global markets.
CONTINUE READINGFIA and board members met with members of the Trump Administration this month to share views on capital – both the Basel End Game and the ongoing need for cross-product netting – as well as US Treasury clearing, among other issues. In his latest Viewpoint column, Walt Lukken, FIA’s President and CEO, highlights the incredible value in meeting with policymakers in person to advocate the industry’s priorities.
CONTINUE READINGRetail investors fuelled a sharp rise in trading activity across precious metals derivatives in 2025, while institutional benchmark futures contracts saw comparatively muted growth.
CONTINUE READINGGlobal trading in exchange-traded derivatives fell in 2025, largely due to a sharp pullback in equity options trading in India following regulators' moves to curb speculative retail activity. Even as global volumes fell, open interest – a measure of outstanding positions – told a different story, underscoring continued demand for derivatives as tools for hedging and price discovery.
CONTINUE READINGChina's commodity futures markets rank among the world's largest in terms of both the volume of trading and the range of commodities that are traded. The success of these markets creates a tremendous pool of liquidity for Chinese and foreign companies that need to hedge their risks. But there's a problem – access to those markets is quite challenging for commodity traders and end-users in other parts of the world.
CONTINUE READINGFIA invites the CFTC to consider a modified regime for fully collateralized and pre-funded clearing models, including those catering to retail traders.
CONTINUE READINGInterest in tokenization of real-world assets is accelerating—and the futures industry is taking notice. This Get Smart session introduces the fundamentals of tokenization and explores current and potential applications in futures markets. It offers insights you need to engage in the tokenization conversation and understand how it might apply to your role or organization.
CONTINUE READINGChange is constant in the derivatives market, but the drivers of change are not. This year's research into market participant opinions revealed that the top three drivers are geopolitical conflict, prediction markets and tokenization. Just as telling, the regulatory agenda, which had been a top concern in the past, dropped to fifth place on this year's list. The findings are based on an assessment of industry sentiment conducted by Crisil Coalition Greenwich in partnership with FIA.
CONTINUE READINGOpening remarks of Walt Lukken, President and CEO of FIA, at the International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London on 16 June 2025. As prepared for delivery.
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