Regulators' clearing push faces delay, say conference attendees

A theme emerging from yesterday’s 2010 TSAM conference is that the regulatory push towards mandatory central clearing of credit default swaps looks likely to be slower than previously expected. Speakers noted that numerous negotiations are ongoing both in the US and Europe and much work remains to be done to harmonise draft legislation proposals.

For instance, a number of different ideas and political agendas are still being debated in the US House of Representatives on how CDS should trade and which participants should be made to clear, while sources allow that progress has also been slow in dealer discussions with the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on capital and margining issues. Some sources said they are now working on an 18 month timeline to mandatory clearing.

The TSAM buy-side technology and operations convention was held in London and attracted strong attendance. Aside from OTC operations, discussion streams included trading technologies, data management and performance measurement.