21 Amendments of Sharon BOWLES related to 2010/2008(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7
Citation 7
– having regard to the G20 decisions of 24 and 25 September 2009 in Pittsburgh, which stated that ‘all standardized OTC derivative contracts should be traded on exchanges or electronic trading platforms’, and the national legislation on derivatives currently being formulated in Europe, the US and Asia,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas regulation of central counterparty clearing facilities (CCPs) must ensure non-discriminatory access by trading venues to ensure the fair and efficient functioning of markets,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas a principle criterion for clearing eligibility must be liquidity; whereas it may increase risk in the system if CCPs are forced to clear products whose risk, including liquidity risk, cannot be effectively managed,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas resilient derivative markets require a comprehensive collateralisation policy encompassing both central and bilateral clearing arrangements,
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative for better regulation of derivatives, and in particular OTC derivatives, and backs the calls for legal and operational standardisation of contracts, the establishment of trade repositories, the strengthening of central clearing houses and the extensive use of organised trading venues where appropriate;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Backs the call for the compulsory introduction of independent clearing between financial institutions for all standardisedclearing eligible derivatives, so as to ensure better assessment of counterparty credit risk, and backs the aim of trading as many standardised derivatives as possible, in future, on organised markets; considers that a principle criterion for clearing eligibility must be liquidity; notes that it may increase risk in the system if CCPs are forced to clear products whose risk, including liquidity risk, cannot be effectively managed;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, as regards regulation, a distinction must be made between derivatives to hedge firms’ transactions and pure financial market derivativesthere is a consensus to address harmful speculative activity. However, as yet the real nature and depth of these activities has still to be analysed; the setting up of trade repositories and careful monitoring of the data gathered will provide crucial insight;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that, through clearing arrangements and by adjusting capital requirements, counterparty credit risk can be reduced for contracts cleared centrally via central counterparty clearing facilities (CCPs) and non-centrally cleared contracts; backs the Commission in proposing higher capital requirements for financial institutions in the case of bilateral contracts, provided that central clearing is dispensed with; asks the Commission, in cases where it is demonstrated that the standards and resilience of clearing (initial margin, daily portfolio reconciliations, daily margining, automated collateral movements) are comparable to those on CCPs, to consider setting capital requirements which are also comparable to contracts cleared centrally via CCPs;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the European Commission to consider exempting short-dated foreign exchange contracts from any clearing requirements, given that central settlement is already in place and expanding in this market, and in light of the much lower counterparty risk involved in short-dated foreign exchange contracts;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. IConsistders that neither must CCPs be organised by users, nor must their risk management systems be in competition with each other; it is crucial that risk management does not become a source of competition between CCPs; nevertheless notes that market participants must have a say in risk management, as it is their capital at risk in the event of default; any potential conflicts must be resolved through governance, in respect of which the Commission is urged to establish robust rules, including a role for independent directors, objective criteria for membership, and close engagement by regulators;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that common technical standards relating to issues such as margin calculation and information exchange protocols will form an important part of ensuring fair and non- discriminatory access of authorised trading venues to CCPs; further notes that the Commission must pay close attention to the possible development of technological differences, discriminatory practices, and work-flow barriers which are harmful to competition;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Backs the introduction of repositories for all trades and positions not exchange- cleared and calls for trade repositories to bderivatives positions, ideally with one repository per asset class, and where appropriate regulated and supervised under EMSMA direction;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that: - national supervisory authorities have access to granular data in repositories that relates to market participants based within their jurisdiction, including that held in repositories based in third countries; one potential solution to this is a data-hub based within each region; - data in repositories is available in aggregate form to all supervisory authorities and possibly other appropriate organisations, in order to facilitate the detection of the build up of systemic risk within the system; - services provided by repositories are priced transparently, in view of their utility-like function;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Backs the Commission in its plan to establish CCPs under independent European responsibility which are independent from key market participanta harmonised regulatory framework for CCPs across the European Union; notes that provision must also be made for criteria for recognition of third country CCPs as equivalent and cross- region transactions;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Assumes that, in the legislative proposal, the Commission will make bilateral clearing for non-financial institutions possible on the basis of an understandablobjective risk assessment in future, too, if graduated capital charges for financial institutions are ensured; asks the Commission, in cases where it is demonstrated that the standards and resilience of clearing for bilateral contracts are comparable to those on CCPs, to consider setting capital requirements which are also comparable to contracts cleared centrally via CCPs;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Backs the Commission in its intention to provide for exemptions and lower capital requirements for SMEs’ bilateral derivatives; notes that the ability of SMEs and other non-financial institutions to hedge their business risks is dependent upon sufficient depth of liquidity in the markets; in turn, this is dependent upon the ability of financial institutions to hedge the risks which they take on when providing a hedging facility;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls, as a matter of priority, for credit default swaps to be made subject to independent central clearing and, if necessary, checkedanalysis of the data collected in trade repositories, in order to establish whether individual types of derivative with cumulative risks should only be conditionally authorised or even, on a case- by-case basis, prohibited; notes that, as a rule, product or generalised position restrictions should take place on an ex post rather than ex ante basis, with close monitoring used to ascertain if a product is being abused or if it has ceased to function properly;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Notes that credit default swaps (CDS) may be legitimately used to hedge corporate activity or interests within a country, even though a sovereign debt bond may not be owned;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Considers that the Commission should investigate the use of position limits to combat market manipulation, most particularly at the point when a contract is approaching expiry (‘squeezes’ and ‘corners’); notes that position limits should be viewed as dynamic regulatory tools rather than absolutes, and that they should be applied when necessary by national supervisors following guidelines set by ESMA;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that for trading commodities and agricultural products, but also greenhouse gas emission allowances, it must be ensured that that market operates transparently in order to stem speculation; calls on the Commission to investigate in particular the effect of the reduction over time of the number of emissions permits, and the trading of offsets prior to their approval, and to consider what additional safeguards may be necessary;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Underlines the fact that regulation which is as consistent as possible and internationally coordinated is desirable, but, since there are differing viewpoints, considers separate European regulation for derivatives to be necessary; welcomes the encouraging signs of convergence with regulatory processes taking place in other jurisdictions, although these are not yet complete; underlines the importance of avoiding regulatory arbitrage through inadequate coordination;