Playing It SEF: ICE Swap Trade Goes Live In Anticipation of Approaching CFTC Deadline

Today, just over a week after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) granted IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) temporary registration as a swap execution facility (SEF), the company announced that its SEF, ICE Swap Trade, has been launched.

The US regulatory authorities have become somewhat adept with regard to processing the applications of several North American institutional firms wishing to register as an SEF, with a large number having been provided with temporary registration during the course of the last few weeks, in preparation for the required specifications laid out in the Dodd-Frank Act.

The original SEF proposal required customers to submit requests for quotes from at least five others to allow “buyers and sellers to meet and compete in the marketplace, just as they do in the futures and securities marketplaces," according to a public statement made by Gary Gensler, the CFTC’s Chairman, prior to the meeting held by the regulatory authority in May this year, during which the SEF rules were cemented.

SEFs now have until October 30 to comply with the reporting requirements set out in the rulings, and for Equities Equities Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Read this Term and commodities, the deadline extends to December 2.

"The launch is the culmination of a collaborative effort among ICE, our customers and our partners to create a marketplace for our energy and credit customers that enables them to adapt to regulatory change with confidence," said Thomas Farley, Senior Vice President of Financial Markets at ICE, in a commercial announcement today.

"The readiness of our solution was evident in the smooth transition and customer adoption," he concluded.

ICE Swap Trade offers various index credit default 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 (CDS) across North American, European and emerging market instruments and intends to offer single-name CDS in the future. The company has confirmed that non-cleared contracts that continued to trade on ICE OTC Commodity Markets began trading on ICE Swap Trade yesterday.