Federal Reserve, OCC, FCA, FHFA and FDIC Adopt Joint Final Rule on Swap Margin Requirements

On October 22, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”), the Federal Reserve Board (the “Board”), the Farm Credit Administration (the “FCA”), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the “FHFA”), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) adopted a joint final rule establishing capital and margin requirements for swaps not cleared through a clearinghouse. The intention of the rule is to promote the stability of swap dealers in light of the risk to the financial system associated with non-cleared swap activity. The amount of margin will vary based on the relative risk of the non-cleared swap. The rule will apply to entities that are regulated by the OCC, the Board, the FCA, the FHFA or the FDIC that register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or Securities and Exchange Commission as a dealer or major participant in swaps. The rule does not apply to swaps of financial institutions with $10 billion or less in total assets that enter into swaps for hedging purposes or to swaps entered into by commercial end users for purposes of hedging commercial risk. The rule will be phased in beginning September 1, 2016.  FDIC Press ReleaseOCC Press ReleaseFinal Rule.