Following the approval on July 11 by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the definitional rules for “swaps” and other derivatives products, and defining the “end user exemption,” the compliance dates for many of the CFTC’s implementing rules for the regulation of derivatives under the Dodd-Frank Act are becoming clearer.
According to a June survey conducted by KPMG LLP, enterprise risk management processes of many major financial services firms are surprisingly manual – perhaps dangerously so. The survey results are somewhat unexpected given that the financial services industry is one of the most technologically sophisticated, complex, and heavily regulated industries there is.
On July 11, the CFTC approved its much awaited final rule implementing the end-user exception from mandatory clearing of swaps. The new ruleslay out parameters of the end-user exception by (1) defining the term “hedging or mitigating commercial risk” and (2) establishing certain reporting requirements for end-users electing to make use of the end-user exception. In addition, these new rules finalize the definition of “swaps” and trigger compliance requirements under several major CFTC swap market regulations.
In his July 4 address before the Europlace Financial Forum, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) chair, Steven Maijoor, announced that ESMA would be proposing standards implementing regulation of OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR) by September 30. Maijoor said that these implementation standards will include an end-user exemption similar to the one expected to be in place under the Dodd-Frank Act.
The UK’s Treasury has published a white paper setting out how the government intends to implement the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Banking (the Vickers Report). The paper offers further detail on plans to separate retail and investment banking through a “ring fencing” and increase competition in the UK banking sector. Further, the paper sets out proposals to make banks more resilient, as well as making them simpler to resolve in the event of failure.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System voted on June 7 to approve proposed rules intended to implement the regulatory capital standards promulgated under “Basel III: A Global Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks and Banking Systems.” These proposals are also intended to harmonize the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 with Basel III requirements. These proposals are a comprehensive set of three capital requirements that, if approved, would be applicable to all insured banks and thrifts, savings and loan holding companies, and bank holding companies with consolidated assets over $500 million.
In a piece published June 14, Peter J. Wallison, Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argues against imposing any new regulation on shadow banking markets and firms without without convincing proof they need it. According to Wallison, the calls from regulators and others for additional regulation of so-called “shadow banks” are simply a rush to judgment.
Per the fiscal year 2013 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill of the House Appropriations Committee, the SEC must perform an in-depth study on the effectiveness of the Commission’s long standing rules, as well as the more recent money market regulatory reforms. In particular, Congress wants to know whether these rules help in providing liquidity to the capital and municipal markets and to what extent they promote and enhance money market fund stability, resiliency, and transparency. This proposed legislation just adds to the ongoing discussion among US regulators, Congressional leaders, and international oversight bodies on the systematic risks still posed by money market funds.
A study published this month (June 2012) by the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) Institute and conducted by Tapestry Networks takes a look at the decision-making process for proxy voting used by 19 North American asset management firms. In particular, the study looks at how these leading US mutual funds develop proxy voting guidelines and reach decisions regarding how to vote. The 19 asset management firms used in the study account for over $15.4 trillion in assets under management, or more than half of the mutual fund assets under management in the United States.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has adopted final rules on Supervision and Regulation of Certain Nonbank Financial Companies. These final rules and the accompanying interpretive guidance lay out in detail the manner in which the FSOC intends to implement the statutory standards and the processes and procedures that the Council intends to follow.