ISDA CEO Scott O'Malia outlined recent and forthcoming efforts to address benchmark reforms.
News & Insights
The Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") issued a final rule intended to improve the liquidity of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac To-Be-Announced ("TBA") eligible mortgage-backed securities ("MBS"). The final rule requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to maintain policies that promote aligned investor cash flows for both the current TBA eligible mortgage-backed securities and, upon its implementation, the uniform mortgage-backed securities ("UMBS"). The UMBS is "a common, fungible MBS that will be eligible for trading in the TBA market for fixed-rate mortgage loans backed by one-to-four unit
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that certain syndicated loans sold to institutional investors are not "securities" and rejected claims of violations of federal and state securities laws.
ISDA, the Association of Financial Markets in Europe, International Capital Market Association, and SIFMA highlighted the challenges of transitioning from Interbank Offered Rates to risk free rates.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") Governor Jerome H. Powell discussed volatility in the Treasury markets and emerging considerations that would provide greater or more stable liquidity. At the 2015 Roundtable on Treasury Markets and Debt Management, Mr. Powell addressed the October 15, 2014 episode of "sudden, outsized volatility" in the Treasury markets. He pointed out that further episodes could cause more market participants to react in ways that reduce liquidity, and add to pressures for changes in market structure. Mr. Powell explained that his preference would be