Derivatives Trading Patterns Shift as Trading Volumes Double in 2014

According to a yearly review paper by the International Swaps Swaps Swaps can be defined as a derivate contact composed of two parties that exchange to cash flow between two separate financial instruments.They are generally divided into two categories. This includes contingent claims (options) and forward claims, where forward contracts, swaps, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are exchanged. Commodity price, equity price, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate are common variables used as one of the cash flows in swaps upon initiation. Different Types of Swaps Swaps can be defined as a derivate contact composed of two parties that exchange to cash flow between two separate financial instruments.They are generally divided into two categories. This includes contingent claims (options) and forward claims, where forward contracts, swaps, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are exchanged. Commodity price, equity price, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate are common variables used as one of the cash flows in swaps upon initiation. Different Types of Swaps Read this Term and Derivatives Association (ISDA), trends in the interest rate derivatives markets have been shifting throughout 2014. The organization highlights in its study that derivatives users are trading interest rate derivatives (IRD) more frequently but in smaller sizes.

The study named “ISDA SwapsInfo 2014 Year in Review” points to a 17.6% decline in the average daily notional volume of IRDs traded from the first to the fourth quarter of 2014. The total ADV totaled $484.4 billion in the fourth quarter. Throughout the same period average daily trade counts increased from 3,622 to 3,800.

The results of the study reveal a decline in the average size per trade from $162.3 million in the first quarter to $127.5 million in the final three months of the year.

The trend has been broad-based with all transactions being affected - off-venue trading and swap Execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Read this Term facility (SEF) trading have both performed similarly.

 That said, when compared to a year ago, ADV more than doubled from $237.6 billion in 2013 to $519.4 billion last year.

The number of trades increased by 44.6% from an average of 2,447 trades per day in 2013 to 3,539 in 2014. 

The share of cleared trades over the period remained on a growth path, now accounting for 76.5% of average daily IRD notional volumes in 2014, compared to 71.7% in 2013.

SEF trading has also increased as it now accounts for 52.4% of the average daily notional volume (ADV) against 19% in 2013.

The CEO of ISDA, Scott O’Malia, who previously served as a U.S. CFTC commissioner, said, “Our research shows the impact of regulatory reforms on derivatives trading volumes. More than three quarters of interest rate derivatives average daily notional is now cleared. The number of trades conducted each day increased over the course of 2014, while trade sizes decreased.”

The study analyzes IRD and CDS data collected from the ISDA SwapsInfo site, aggregating information from users data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Bloomberg US swap data repositories. Additional information about volumes is gathered from individual swap execution facility (SEF) websites.

The full ISDA SwapsInfo 2014 Year in Review study can be found below.

SwapsInfo 2014 Year in Review, March 16 2015