*Breaking news* The Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority declare 16 August 2021 as the effective date for the joint standard relating to the margin requirements for non-centrally cleared over-the-counter derivative transactions (Joint Standard). How will this date affect the phase in periods: 1. Any OTC derivative provider (ODP) and Counterparty pair who belong to a group of which the aggregate month-end average gross notional amount of OTC derivat

In June 2020, the Margin Requirements for Non-Centrally Cleared Over-The-Counter Derivative Transactions were published as Joint Standard 2 2020 under the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (the ‘Margin Rules’). The Margin Rules set out the regulatory requirements for posting collateral (both initial margin and variation margin) in respect of OTC derivative transactions which are not traded through a central clearing house. Which entity types are affected by the Margin Rul

Source: ISDA® Quarterly Vol 6, Issue 2: May 2020 (pages 36 to 39) The figures from ISDA®'s latest margin survey gives an interesting insight into the statistics for initial margin (IM). The first four phases of initial margin implementation have now been completed meaning that a total of over 50 firms are currently in scope for IM. The 20 dealer firms that were in scope in the first phase of the IM regulations collected $173.2 billion of IM at the end of 2019. This was $15.3

The Insurance Act, 2017 (“IA”) was implemented in South Africa in July 2018 and it repealed many of the provisions of the Long-Term Insurance Act (“LTIA”), and Short-Term Insurance Act (“STIA”). Currently there are no published Prudential Standards which regulate the use of derivatives by insurance companies (although the Prudential Authority has indicated they will be publishing these at some point). The IA states that if a provision of the LTIA or STIA is repealed but not y

According to isda.org ... Collateral acts as a backstop that protects market participants and the economy as a whole. The requirement to post collateral is a key reform that makes the derivatives market more transparent, resilient and safe. ISDA’s new whiteboard animation video explains how collateral is used in the derivatives market, and how it makes the financial system safer. #collateral #derivativesmarket #variationmargin #initialmargin #counterparty

Finally some clarity ... see what Kelle Gagné from Edward Nathan Sonnenberg has to say by clicking on this link above. Whilst the South African market continues to wait for the margin rules for uncleared otc derivatives to be finalised and published by the regulator, it is not too soon to start thinking about how to bring your collateral agreements up to date and in line with regulatory requirements. ISDA published the variation margin-compliant CSA (2016 VM CSA) and it is an

Regulatory changes will continue to be the main area of focus for the derivatives industry in 2018. In addition to that, new product types (Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) are also likely to dominate the way in which the derivatives industry will develop this year. Key areas of focus in 2018: MiFID II: The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the accompanying Markets in Financial Instruments and Amending Regulation (MiFIR) both originate from the Europea

Many market participants in the EU and US scrambled to get their collateral documentation in order ahead of the 1 March 2017 regulatory deadline for the posting of Variation Margin for uncleared swaps. This deadline posed a challenge for many, particularly the buy-side firms. This article gives interesting and relevant insight into the relief which EU and US regulators have given to the market on the variation margin deadline. If your firm still needs to get its collateral do

The year 2016 was characterised by change and surprise: first the news of the Brexit vote, and then that Donald Trump had been voted in as the 45th US President. Finally, in late 2016, the SARB proposed a directive in terms of the Banks Act outlining the margin rules for uncleared derivatives in the South African market. All of these events are likely to have a large impact on the derivatives industry in 2017. Global financial regulatory reform continued rolling out in 2016 a

On 13th April 2016, ISDA® published the 2016 Credit Support Annex for Variation Margin, governed by New York law (“NY VM CSA”). This was followed on 29th April 2016 by the publication of the 2016 Credit Support Annex for Variation Margin, governed by English law (“Eng VM CSA”). More recently the Japanese law version of the VM CSA was also published. These new documents will enable participants in the un-cleared derivatives market to comply with new variation margining require