Associations Request Clarification On Implementing BCBS-IOSCO Exemptions From Certain Swaps Margin Requirements

ISDA, SIFMA, the Global Financial Markets Association and SIFMA AMG (collectively, the "associations") urged U.S. regulators to provide guidance on implementing Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and IOSCO ("BCBS-IOSCO") recommended exemptions from swaps margin requirements where the amounts to be transferred are below relevant thresholds.

In a letter to the CFTC, the SEC and prudential regulators, the associations requested assurance that swap dealers and their counterparties would be exempt from Phase IV and V initial margin requirements unless the bilateral initial margin amount exceeds $50 million. According to the associations, such an action would save many Phase IV and V counterparties from a "massive documentation and operation[al] burden."