FOA and FIA Merge Globally (with Lofchie Comment)

The Futures and Options Association and Futures Industry Association announced an agreement in principal to combine their two organizations under one global structure and a brand to be called FIA Global. The initiative for the affiliation stems from the increasingly global nature of derivatives regulation. As global regulators implement the G-20 derivatives reforms, it becomes increasingly clear that both regulators and market participants need new mechanisms to address the cross-border impact of these reforms.

The proposed affiliation will achieve the following goals:

• Enable the associations to speak as one global voice to better reflect and represent the cross-border nature of the derivatives business;
• Extend the global reach of the industry and strengthen the influence of the associations both locally and globally;
• Enable the associations to pool and target resources and expertise as issues arise regionally and around the globe; and
• Enable the associations, wherever possible, to align their policies and strategies to create operational and regulatory efficiencies for their global members.

Lofchie Comment: "The merger of these customer trade groups should signal to national regulators that they, too, should coordinate more closely."

See: Joint Press Release, Brochure and FAQ.