Newsletter February 2010: EU working group mulls plan for OTC derivative reg

BRUSSELS – Regulation of the vast over-the-counter derivatives market has taken another step forward in the EU, with the establishment of a working group comprising representatives of the bloc’s member governments and aimed at hammering out a detailed approach for incorporation into legislation later this year. The working group’s starting point at its first meeting, in late January was a paper drawn up by the European Commission, setting out its own well-established position for greater standardisation of derivative contracts and centralised clearing of them.