ISDA: ‘Granular’ Approach To OTC Clearing Obligations

When Sweden’s NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was approved to act as central counterparty (CCP) under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) for several single-name, basket, and equity index futures and options two months ago, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) was tasked with figuring out which of those derivatives should have a clearing obligation.

In a recent whitepaper studying the issue, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), which represents dealers and other parties in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market, argues that derivative customizability plays an important role in businesses’ risk management strategy and should be respected when setting clearing obligations.