Draft Bill for Introduction of Regulatory Framework for Financial Benchmarks
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”)1 and the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (“ASIFMA”2, and together with ISDA, the “Associations” or “we”) welcome the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Bill for Introduction of Regulatory Framework for Financial Benchmarks (the “Draft Bill”) proposed by the Financial Services Commission (“FSC”) on 18 June 2018. Terms not defined herein have the same meanings given to them in the Draft Bill.
While our members have sought to form a consensus on the Draft Bill, there are certain issues on which individualmembers may have their own views. This response represents the majority view of the industry on the issues covered by the Draft Bill, and certain members may provide their comments to the FSC independently.
The Associations strongly support the introduction of a regulatory framework for financial benchmarks in the Republic of Korea and consider this as an important step forward for enhancing robustness and reliance of financial benchmarks and adopting the Principles for Financial Benchmarks issued by the Board of the International Organizations of Securities Commissions in July 2013 (“IOSCO Principles”). We would welcome further discussions with the FSC as it finalizes the Draft Bill and proposes further requirements and guidance in relation to financial benchmarks.
We set out our comments in the following by reference to the Articles of the Draft Bill.
1. Since 1985, ISDA has worked to make the global derivatives markets safer and more efficient. Today, ISDA has more than 900 member institutions from 68 countries. These members comprise a broad range of derivatives market participants, including corporations, investment managers, government and supranational entities, insurance companies, energy and commodities firms, and international and regional banks. In addition to market participants, members also include key components of the derivatives market infrastructure, such as exchanges, intermediaries, clearing houses and repositories, as well as law firms, accounting firms and other service providers. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association’s website: www.isda.org. Follow us on Twitter @ISDA.
2. ASIFMAis an independent, regional trade association with over 80 member firms comprising a diverse range of leading financial institutions from both the buy and sell side, including banks, asset managers, law firms and market infrastructure service providers. Through the GFMA alliance with SIFMA in the United States and AFME in Europe, ASIFMA also provides insights on global best practices and standards to benefit the region.
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