Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Office of Financial Research (OFR) has published a trio of papers looking at various aspects of central counterparties (CCPs). These papers range from the best way to stress test CCPs, to the adequacy of CCP margin requirements and the relative risks and utility of central clearing to repo markets.

“Clearing agencies that have been designated as systemically important or that clear security-based swaps are a backbone of the U.S. financial markets. The enhanced regulatory regime proposed today reflects the importance of effective regulation of these entities.” 

---SEC Chairman Mary Jo White 

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted on March 12 to propose new rules to enhance the oversight of clearing agencies that are deemed to be systemically important or that are involved in complex transactions like security-based swaps. The Dodd-Frank Act calls for a new framework of regulation for certain clearing agencies, and these rules, if adopted, would apply to SEC-registered clearing agencies that have been designated as systemically important by the FSOC. The rules would also sweep into their regulatory ambit clearing agencies not deemed systemically important, but that take part in highly complex transactions, such as clearing security-based swaps.