ISDA CEO Scott O'Malia Remarks on ISDA Priorities, Stresses Cross-Border Harmonization
In a statement on ISDA's derivatiViews website, ISDA's Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Malia remarked on his first few weeks at ISDA and on ISDA's areas of focus. Regarding near-term priorities, Mr. O'Malia highlighted (i) ISDA's work on a new "resolution stay" protocol intended to address the concerns of global regulators regarding financial institution insolvency, recent development and delivery by ISDA of a standard initial margin methodology, (ii) being granted a workable timetable to implement OTC margin rules, and (iii) developing clear principles as to how clearing house resolution would proceed.
Regarding long-term priorities, Mr. O'Malia emphasized the critical importance of international regulatory harmonization, stating that ISDA wished to work with regulators in developing the means to create an "outcomes-based regulatory regime that relies on substituted compliance." In this regard, Mr. O'Malia noted that ISDA will maintain support for:
- more consistent data reporting standards across jurisdictions;
- trading protocols and platforms that aggregate liquidity; and
- consistency in rules surrounding clearing mandates and OTC margining.
Mr. O'Malia - formerly a Commissioner at the CFTC - began his position at ISDA on August 18, 2014, succeeding Robert Pickel as ISDA's CEO.