INTERNATIONAL: ISDA and IHS Markit Launch ISDA Amend 2.0

Monday August 8 2016

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) and IHS Markit have announced the launch of ISDA Amend 2.0.

ISDA Amend 2.0 includes functionality to allow market participants to implement the new margining requirements for non-cleared derivatives, as well as the ability to inform counterparties about elections they have made under the ISDA Resolution Stay Jurisdictional Modular Protocol (ISDA JMP).

ISDA Amend was initially launched in August 2012 as an online service developed by ISDA and IHS Markit, and allows users of Counterparty Manager to amend multiple ISDA Master Agreements and share regulatory representations. ISDA Amend is a free service for buy-side firms and corporates.

ISDA and IHS Markit will host an informational webinar that will outline the new functionality of ISDA Amend 2.0 on Thursday, August 11 at 10am EDT. Registration is now open.

In addition, the ISDA 2016 Variation Margin Protocol, which will be available on ISDA Amend in October 2016, is designed to help market participants comply with new rules on margin for non-cleared swaps, by providing a scalable solution to amend derivatives contract documentation with multiple counterparties. The Protocol addresses documentation changes necessary to comply with the variation margin requirements that will apply to a large number of market participants in various jurisdictions from March 2017.

The ISDA JMP on ISDA Amend allows market participants to quickly and efficiently inform their counterparties about the elections they have made when adhering to the jurisdictional modules of the Protocol.

The ISDA JMP will have separate jurisdictional modules, each designed to closely reflect the requirements in a particular jurisdiction. Each jurisdictional module will contain the operative provisions necessary for adhering parties to comply with applicable requirements. The ISDA JMP on ISDA Amend initially covers the UK (PRA Rule) Jurisdictional Module to the ISDA JMP, which enables firms to comply with UK Prudential Regulation Authority requirements. Functionality for other jurisdictional modules will be launched in due course.

The new elements come on top of existing ISDA Amend functionality, which supports compliance with various Dodd-Frank and EMIR rule-makings, including:

• The ISDA August 2012 and March 2013 Dodd-Frank Protocols;
• The ISDA Cross-Border Representation Letter;
• The EMIR Counterparty Classification Tool; and
• The EMIR Clearing Classification Tool, which was recently expanded to cover the clearing obligation for certain interest rate derivatives classes denominated in European Economic Area (EEA) currencies and certain credit default swaps (CDS) index classes.

Other ISDA regulatory tools currently available on ISDA Amend include the Canadian Representation Letter, the Australian Single-Sided Reporting Letter and the Australian Mandatory Clearing Classification Letter.

Additional information on ISDA Amend, including presentations, documentation and audio playback, is available on the ISDA Amend website.

 Click on the link above for further details