Clearinghouse Default Process Needs Clarity, Swaps Users Say

Regulators need to finish writing the rules on how to unwind a swaps clearinghouse if it fails, derivatives industry users and observers said at a conference today.

“It’s very important that sooner rather than later regulators make sure we get these things written down so they’re respected,” John Williams, a partner in the derivatives and structured products finance group at law firm Allen & Overy LLP, said today at an over-the-counter derivatives symposium at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He called a default by a clearinghouse “the worst worst scenario,” and said more research on how to handle such an event is needed.