Global banking and securities regulators on Thursday issued guidance on the adoption of unique product identifiers (UPIs) designed to improve the transparency of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets,
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a joint publication that provides technical guidance on the application of uniform global UPIs for OTC derivatives transactions.
UPIs are being introduced to enhance the transparency of the OTC derivatives markets by enabling regulators to uniquely identify each OTC derivative product that must be reported to a trade repository. This initiative is intended to bolster the regulators’ ability to oversee the markets, monitor systemic risk, and guard against market abuse.
The demand for greater transparency came in the wake of the financial crisis, which revealed the lack of oversight in certain markets, including OTC derivatives markets.
“Global uniform UPIs facilitate the consistent global aggregation and analysis of OTC derivatives transaction data reported across trade repositories that authorities can use to meet their legal obligations and prudential requirements,” the regulators says in a statement..
The CPMI and IOSCO also intend to produce guidance on harmonizing other critical OTC derivatives data elements in the coming months.