The global over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets appear to be somewhat safer than they proved to be during the financial crisis, thanks to solid progress on reforms pursued in the wake of the crisis, such as efforts to drive central clearing.
A report published Monday from the he Financial Stability Board (FSB) finds that “good progress continues to be made across the G20’s OTC derivatives reform agenda”.
The report notes that the adoption of trade reporting requirements continues to grow as 18 countries now have standards for determining when derivatives should be centrally cleared and 16 countries have implemented margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives. As well, higher capital requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives are in force in 23 countries.
A second FSB report published Monday finds that legal barriers to full trade reporting in OTC derivatives markets have been dealt with in most jurisdictions.
Additionally, the FSB, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions published a report which finds that a variety of post-crisis reforms have created an overall incentive, at least for dealers and larger and more active clients, to centrally clear OTC derivatives.
“The analysis suggests that, overall, the reforms are achieving their goals of promoting central clearing, especially for the most systemic market participants,” the report says. “This is consistent with the goal of reducing complexity and improving transparency and standardisation in the OTC derivatives markets.”