Over-the-counter derivatives are important to almost 90 percent of derivative end-users’ risk strategies, according to an end-user survey conducted by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and published at the trade group’s annual general meeting in Munich that started April 9. In another new ISDA survey respondents reported that 90 percent of uncleared derivative transactions were subject to collateral agreements at the end of 2013.
Eighty-six percent of 245 respondents to the end-user survey said OTC derivatives remain very important or important to their risk management strategies. Forty-two percent of respondents were nonfinancial corporates and 49 percent were financial institutions, such as insurers and asset managers, while 45 percent were headquartered in Europe and 41 percent in the US.
“As the OTC derivatives market continues to evolve amidst significant changes, it is clear that end-users around the world want and need the ability to use these instruments to manage the risks arising from their business and financing activities,” Stephen O’Connor, ISDA Chairman, said in a statement.
A moderate majority of end users, 57 percent, said the financial system is safer today than before the financial crisis, and 86 percent said tighter credit risk management has been the important or most important factor in strengthening the system. Capital requirements and reducing leverage followed respectively at 79 percent and 76 percent, while central clearing mandates, trade execution requirements, and transaction reporting requirements were each rated important by about a third of respondents.
Although the introduction of electronic swap trading platforms in the US and Europe has been controversial, 74 percent of end users believe they will have a positive effect on transparency. Nevertheless, a majority of end users believe the transparency will negatively impact OTC derivatives’ price, liquidity and ease of use. The ISDA survey also found that that 68 percent of end users see the new regulatory paradigm increasing hedging costs, and 81 percent said it is increasing their administrative burden.
Corporate end users are generally exempt from clearing and the associated margin requirements, although regulators in the US and Europe are anticipated to propose and possibly finalize regulations requiring banks to impose margin requirements on them after certain thresholds are reached. Nevertheless, corporates’ financial counterparties are already collateralizing the vast bulk of their uncleared derivative transactions.
The 61 firms responding to ISDA’s annual margin survey, mostly large banks and broker dealers with some asset managers and insurance companies, reported that 90 percent of uncleared derivative transactions were subject to collateral agreements at the end of 2013. The number of active collateral agreements –those with exposure and/or collateral balances—was 133,155.
The survey also found that the estimated amount of collateral in circulation in the non-cleared OTC derivatives market decreased by 14 percent, to $3.17 trillion from $3.7 trillion, by year-end.
The report said, “Much of this decrease can be attributed to the rise of mandatory central clearing,” which shifted collateral to the clearing firms.
The use of cash and government securities accounted for roughly 90 percent of non-cleared OTC derivatives collateral, according to the survey, which also found that portfolio reconciliation, to ensure counterparties’ books and records are synchronized, is widely used and considered best market practice.
Larger-sized portfolios, with 100 to 499 trades, showed a 5 percent increase in daily reconciliation at the end of 2013 compared to 2012, and 84 percent large firms indicated they reconcile their portfolio mix on a daily basis. Dodd-Frank and EMIR regulations are expected to continue driving this trend.
“Collateralization has a fundamentally important role to play in risk mitigation,” said Robert Pickel, ISDA Chief Executive Officer.