LCH and Ice prepare to battle it out over options clearing
A fully cleared market for CDS options is getting closer, with the two largest central clearing counterparties (CCPs) set to expand their services.

Narrowly tailored event protocol set to go live in weeks
Investors have until 14 October to sign up to an Isda protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs) from the CDS market.

Guidelines fail to assuage fears over loose reporting standards
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s new hedge fund reporting guidelines come into play next year, but some say they fall short of a much-needed overhaul.

CLO market awaits further Volcker amendments as initial tweaks centre on prop trading
CLOs will not be impacted by changes to the Volcker rule announced yesterday, which means that rules limiting bond buckets in US CLOs will remain intact for the immediate future. Instead, regulators revealed that some of the rules around bank proprietary trading will be relaxed

Big questions for CDS shorters as Isda protocol countdown begins
With only a month to go until the International Swaps & Derivatives Association rolls out its protocol for narrowly tailored credit events, big net buyers of CDS protection should think hard about both its value and maintaining liquidity, says law firm Kramer Levin

Regulators delay final initial margin deadline and add extra roll-out phase
Regulators have granted a one-year reprieve to smaller counterparties from a requirement to post initial margin on derivative trades, while introducing an additional implementation phase. But while a relief for large numbers of firms struggling to meet the deadline, the concession still ignores calls from industry bodies to deploy a higher final capture threshold

What price lender integrity if myriad interpretations mean nobody knows where they stand?
Net short language is seeping into loan documentation. The problem is that some funds may not know their net position

US CLO managers see positives as docs include negative notation language to ease move to new reference rate
Europe might be making progress, but US CLO managers are less than preoccupied with the looming transition away from US dollar-Libor based pricing. 

CLO issuance faces threat amid loan definition dispute
The clash over Millennium Laboratories’ bankruptcy could have ramifications for the CLO market, and it all hinges on the philosophical question: what is a loan?

Cayman Island hopping: EU laws provoke switch in CLO listings
The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) is set to become the listing place of choice in 2019 for CLOs put together by US managers — at least, according to a bold prediction by law firm Harneys.

The resolution of narrowly tailored credit events is a leap forward for the CDS market
Isda is replacing the mechanistic determination of a failure-to-pay credit event with a more subjective rule

Japan regulation affords CLOs breathing room
Japan’s regulators have avoided disruption of the global CLO market by softening the impact of their risk retention rules that came into effect in March

LSTA's Coffey floats five-point plan for Libor replacements
"Unlike Brexit, a benchmark is definitely going to happen", the audience at the IMN European CLO and Leveraged Loan conference heard 

Leveraged loans pose credit risk but not systemic risk, conference told
Regulators and the press need to understand the difference between credit risk and systemic risk, claimed panelists at the IMN European CLOs and Leveraged Loans conference

Japanese regulator makes CLOs exempt from risk retention - if loans are appropriately originated
The Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) has said that CLOs can sit outside the remits of its securitisation regulation, if investors in the country can provide ‘in-depth analysis’ showing the underlying assets were appropriately originated

European regulators lower Solvency II capital charges for private debt
The European Commission has amended Solvency II rules to make it easier for insurance companies to invest in private debt and private equity

CDS relative value traders shift their bets as Europe trades inside US
Credit derivative markets have hit a point of position cutting and resetting, with the iTraxx Europe index having dipped inside its US counterpart CDX IG for the first time since December even as the European Central Bank’s new funding programme underwhelmed financials traders

Initial margin relief falls short of industry calls
Reprieve for many smaller counterparties from a requirement to post initial margin (IM) on derivative trades looks likely, following a statement from regulators this week

US dollar three-month is focus point for benchmarks, finds Ice Libor survey
One-, three- and six-month US dollar and sterling are the focus points for Ice Benchmark Administration to seek agreement with banks, according to the results of IBA’s survey on uses of Libor

US and UK sound post-Brexit derivatives regulatory accord
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Bank of England have issued a joint statement assuring derivative market participants of continued access to trading and clearing after the UK’s exit from the European Union

Behave yourselves: EBA policy advisor warns against misuse of securitisation rules
The European securitisation market has come a long way over the last decade, and the message from one policy advisor is clear – don’t do anything to mess it up.

DTCC appoints Deriv/Serv board chairman to replace Thompson
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has appointed a replacement board chairman of its Deriv/Serv credit derivatives repository following the retirement of Larry Thompson in December

SEC proposal could strengthen BDCs’ power to purchase funds
The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has released proposals to allow regulated US funds, including listed funds, closed-end funds and business development companies (BDCs), to acquire shares of other regulated funds in excess of current limitations