margin and capital requirements

Agencies Finalize Amendments to Swap Margin Rule

 

On June 25, federal agencies finalized a rule that updates margin and capital requirements for banks and other entities with significant swap activities. The updated rule no longer requires entities that are part of the same banking organization to hold a specific amount of initial margin for uncleared swaps with each other, such swaps being known as inter-affiliate swaps. The changes to the swap margin rule also provide additional flexibility to allocate collateral internally. The final rule is intended to facilitate risk management and maintain existing safeguards. Release. Final Rule.

Extension of Comment Period on Swap Margin and Capital Proposed Rulemaking

On June 23, the Fed, Farm Credit Association, FDIC, FHFA, and OCC extended the comment period for a proposed rule to establish margin and capital requirements from June 24 to July 11. Joint Release. Proposed Rule.

Joint Proposed Rule on Swap Margin and Capital Requirements

On April 12, the FDIC, Fed, FCA, FHFA, and OCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking establishing margin and capital requirements for swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants pursuant to Sections 731 and 764 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposal adopts a risk-based approach in establishing the minimum amount of margin a covered swap entity must collect from a counterparty and the frequency with which it must calculate and collect such margin. On April 12, the CFTC held an open meeting to discuss and approve a similar proposed rule. The Commissioners observed that significant inconsistencies between the CFTC rule and the rule proposed by the aforementioned agencies would need to be reconciled in future rulemaking actions. FDIC Release. Proposed Rule. CFTC Hearing Link.