Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation October 10, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board, OCC, FDIC, FCA, and FHFA (each an Agency and, collectively, the Agencies) are adopting amendments to their rules establishing minimum margin requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants (Swap Margin Rule). These amendments conform the Swap Margin Rule to rules recently adopted by the Board, the OCC, and the FDIC that impose restrictions on certain qualified financial contracts, including certain non-cleared swaps subject to the Swap Margin Rule (the QFC Rules). Specifically, the final amendments to the Swap Margin Rule conform the definition of ``Eligible Master Netting Agreement'' to the definition of ``Qualifying Master Netting Agreement'' in the QFC Rules. The amendment to the Swap Margin Rule ensures that netting agreements of firms subject to the Swap Margin Rule are not excluded from the definition of ``Eligible Master Netting Agreement'' based solely on their compliance with the QFC Rules. The amendment also ensures that margin amounts required for non-cleared swaps covered by agreements that otherwise constitute Eligible Master Netting Agreements can continue to be calculated on a net portfolio basis, notwithstanding changes to those agreements that will be made in some instances by firms revising their netting agreements to achieve compliance with the QFC Rules. In addition, for any non-cleared swaps that were ``entered into'' before the compliance dates of the Swap Margin Rulesand which are accordingly grandfathered from application of the rule's margin requirementsthe amendments state that any changes to netting agreements that are required to conform to the QFC Rules will not render grandfathered swaps covered by that netting agreement as ``new'' swaps subject to the Swap Margin Rule.