Exemption of FX Swaps, Forwards Leaves Unresolved Issues

FX forwards and swaps remain subject to requirements including trade reporting, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s anti-evasion authority, which aims to keep Wall Street from tweaking cleared FX products to receive exempt status, and Dodd-Frank’s business conduct rules, according to an analysis by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft.

In its announcement, Treasury said participants in FX forwards and swaps know their own and their counterparties’ payment obligations and their full exposures through the life of the contract, which distinguishes them from a handful of other FX derivatives that most likely will have to be cleared, including FX options, currency swaps, cross-currency swaps, contracts for differences, foreign-rate agreements and non-deliverable forwards (NDFs)