News
Regulators Focus on Liquidity Risk Management
Since the liquidity freeze during the financial crisis, liquidity risk management has been a concern to regulators thorughout the financial industry. Last week, the the SEC proposed new rules addressing liquidity management in open end funds and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued guidance regarding effective liquidity management at broker-dealers.
PWC Studies the State of Global Financial Market Liquidity
PWC has published an August 2015 study commissioned by The Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and the Institute for International Finance (IIF) intended to examine the post-crisis state of global financial market liquidity. Among its findings, the study...
SEC to Propose Limits on Use of Derivatives by Mutual Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it will hold hearings on December 11 to “consider whether to propose a new rule and amendments to certain proposed forms related to the use of derivatives by registered investment companies and business development companies.” This move is not unexpected as the SEC has long been concerned with how funds’ use of derivatives might affect compliance with leverage restrictions, and raise issues with fund portfolio diversification, concentration, and valuation. In 2011, the SEC issued a concept release seeking input on these very issues.
OFR Report Highlights Complexity of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio
On October 7, 2015, the Office of Financial Research (OFR) published a paper highlighting the difficulties in interpreting the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), a new standard set by bank regulators after the financial crisis to help ensure banks maintain sufficient liquid assets during times of market stress. The OFR’s analysis of the LCR is part of its ongoing work monitoring the effects of changes in U.S. bank capital and liquidity regulations.
Who Will Enforce the Volcker Rule, and How?
On July 21, 2015, following a long five-year proposal and comment period, the collection of restrictions imposed by Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the regulations thereunder (commonly referred to as the “Volcker Rule”) finally went into effect. The aim of the rule is to stop US banks and their global affiliates from engaging in unecessarily risky speculation and head off myriad conflicts of interest arising from proprietary trading and from investment relationships with hedge funds and private equity funds. While this may sound simple enough, even after the lengthy consideration of the rule, it is almost entirely unclear how the Volcker Rule will be enforced and by whom. Adding to the uncertaintly, because the final text of the Volcker Rule leaves so many interpretive questions remaining, it is almost impossible for banks to know if they are completely in compliance with the rule.
European Banking Authority’s Semi-Annual Report On Risks In The European Banking Sector
On July 3, 2015, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its seventh semi-annual report assessing the risks and vulnerabilities in the European banking sector. The July report summarizes the primary developments and trends that have affected the EU banking sector since mid-2014 until June 12, 2015 as well as the EBA’s view of the key micro-prudential risks in the near future.
Progress Report from the New York Fed’s Tri-Party Repo Task Force
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Tri-Party Repo Infrastructure Reform Task Force issued a progress report on June 24, 2015. The report touts some impressive progress since the task force’s last update in 2014, including the implementation of the task force’s new settlement regime by the major tri-party clearing player, Bank of New York Mellon.
Open Consultation Papers and Rule Proposals: Winter 2014/15
The global regulatory calendar for the first quarter of 2015 includes comment deadlines for a number of consultation papers and rule proposals. We have compiled a list of the closing dates of many, if not all, of the major comment periods.
Fed Pres. Dudley Addresses Market Liquidity
In a September 30, 2015 speech before the SIFMA Liquidity Forum in New York, Fed President and Chief Executive Officer William C. Dudley addressed concerns that market liquidity is being hindered by regulation. While open to the idea of finding a better balance between new regulations and improved trading conditions, Dudley stated that he found, “the evidence to date that liquidity has diminished markedly is, at best, mixed.” In addition, Mr. Dudley does not find any real evidence that regulations are the primary cause of changing liquidity conditions in the bond and other markets.
BIS Forms Consultation Committee to Address FX Practices
Amidst the series of legal settlements in recent months by global banks for forex market manipulation, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced that it will set up a working group under its Markets Committee to study improvements in the foreign exchange markets.